Hi everyone! Here's another image from our recent trip to the coast. This is one of the bigger rams in the group of Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep herd we found. I noticed him resting near the herd and decided for an "animal-scape" type shot. I tried some horizontal and vertical images, but prefer the vertical because I think it shows the environment the sheep live in better. The Sierra Nevada sub-species habitat is quite different from our local Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep habitat. I think it would be cool to photograph the different Bighorn Sheep of the world in their environment one day and then compare them all.
Thank y'all for lookin' and I can't wait to hear what you think about this one. 
One of my favourite parts of the image is the entrance to the canyon at the top of the frame. If you check out the larger version and look closely at his horns then you'll notice a small piece of sage brush stuck in the tip of his left horn. I think it adds some cool character! 
Nikon D7100
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/2.8 IF-ED VR lens
ISO 320
1/800sec @ f/6.3
98% of full frame
Handheld
Comments
7 commentsVery cool animalscape Jenaya!
I may prefer touch more room behind the Bighorn.
Jagdeep Rajput
Neat animalscape Jenaya. I like the diagonal lines going up from the Ram's head and then up to the canyon entrance at the top. It does feel a tad tight in the lower right behind the ram tough.
Clinton
An interesting approach. The photograph is your usual top quality. The position of the ram made me think: was this too close? I finally decided, no. If this was just about the sheep, obviously it would be, in terms of "thirds" comp. But since this is what you have deemed an "animal-scape", it is just about right. This is almost a diagonal comp, with the sheep anchoring the LRC and the canyon entrance the ULC. Very subtle!
Nicely done Jenaya, great tones. I might play with selective contrast to help the ram "pop" some more?
Perhaps take clarity down on the file globally, but paint it back in on the ram locally with the adjustment brush in LR?
Janaya ..thats a beautifully crafted image. The shades of color within the frame is a big plus. Love the placement of the subject in the frame and the vertical comp works very well.
Balan Vinod
Lovely Big horn, great shot of this species in it's environment. I would crop from the top and loose the rocks, that makes this a much stronger image and my eyes focus straight away on the essentials.
Hi Jenaya,
I find this to be a pleasant composition - definitely does a good job of showing the environment that this species prefers. I can see arguments both for retaining and for removing the rocky portion at the top of the image - the image would be simpler and arguably visually more pleasing if that element was removed, but having those rocks certainly helps convey a little more about the habitat (and obviously works very well with the title of the image!). Definitely a personal preference issue, and one that depends upon what the photographer wants to convey with the image.
Thanks for sharing this...
Brad
PS: for me the ram feels "ever so slightly" too tight to the right edge of the frame (but I do love how low it is in the frame!)