I found Rocky Mountain Goats today...but in the mid day sun. It presented some real problems in getting decent looks and exposures. Further, the unstable slopes and wind tried to steal my hat as I slid around for position! Backgrounds were difficult and goats were mostly back-lighted. This one is posed on an edge with deep shade on the rock wall beyond.
Specs: Nikon D610 and Tamron 150-600, 200mm, f9, ISO 400, 1/1600, hand held, -1.7ev from Matrix metering...then I reduced global exposure another 1/3 in processing, then selectively lifted the whites. Mostly full frame. I erased a couple of stems I might not have had to do, but they bugged me...View larger for best effect. Comments encouraged.
Gads, sorry for the mistake on the larger posting...that is one of the others I was working on and should have been the larger version of the first posted. Different animal.
Comments
6 commentsLove the portrait rendition int he larger version as well. Nice.
Hey Lon,
I like the strong contrast here, and the goat certainly gave you a classic pose. I'm not sure about the small bit of vegetation in the upper right corner...though the fact that it's angled directly at the goat doesn't hurt!
If this was mine I'd probably selectively work the contrast (including the midtones in the shoulder region) on the goat itself just a bit more - but it's quite nice exactly as posted.
Cheers...
Brad
I think the image in the larger version is spectacular against that dark bg Lon.
This is a very nice goat picture but the one that pops up in the larger image with just the head and shoulders against a solid black background is just superb to me. Really well done with both of them Lon.
Lon: Effort rewarded! I think you did well in spite of the conditions. You might try the Home Depot method of hat retention. Take a staple gun and fire it through the hat into the top of the skull. Hurts for a few seconds and sometimes leaves a mark but guaranteed to keep the chapeau in place.
. Beautiful shot. >=))>
Nice find, Lon! We've really struggled to get quality photo opps of these guys despite our proximity to Glacier and their presence in Waterton and the local ranges (not terribly accessible outside of Glacier in my experience, though). I like the dramatic contrast here but agree with Brad that the goat itself might benefit from some more work in post, including the face/eye. I like the natural environment and comp as well.