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Wild Horses + motion
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Wild Horses + motion

by Barbara Graham

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 31, 20171,773 views4 comments
Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Gainesville, Florida.  These horses are descendants of the horses brought to Florida by the Spaniards.  Right now there are about 25 of them living in the 32.81 square miles of Payne's Prairie Preserve.  They live completely on their own.  Interestingly, the sign at the entrance of the park says to stay 20 feet away from alligators and 120 feet away from wild horses and bison.  Sweetwater is at the very northern end of Payne's Prairie, and the horses are not often up that far.

10/28/2017, 9:00:09 AM
Canon EOS 7D Mark II EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III @140mm
f/18, 1/200, ISO 800
Aperture Priority, Evaluative Metering
Imported into LR, processed in CC PS 2018, forgot to figure the size comparison, but probably about 80% of full frame.

I posted an unprocessed picture that included these horses in the forum.  The colors they are in this processed image are the colors they actually were. The other horses, including the stallion, were black.  These females and the colt are looking at the stallion, as they did a lot.  He was quite nervous, as there were 3 people at 3 different locations, and he kept trotting back and forth on the trail.  There was only one place they could cross the water into the woods, and that was the spot he stayed near.  Once he did come down where I was taking this picture, and he came toward me, not running, but snorting a lot, so I backed up pretty quickly, and then he seemed okay.

I love how the colt looks, his fur all wild and thick.  

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Please see the larger version if possible.  Thank youi!

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 1, 2017 at 9:51 PM
Barbara, you technical choices seem quite good.  My one comment is that given how beautifully horses exhibit graceful motion, my wish would be a capture capturing same!
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 2, 2017 at 11:34 AM
A nice grouping, Barbara.  I do agree that some motion would be nice though horses don't always cooperate.  My wife is a dedicated horse person and even she admits that they look pretty boring unless they're moving.  By the way, she asked me to let you know that this coloration with dark brown body going to black mane and tail is called "bay" in the horse world.  If you ask her what her favorite color is, that's the answer you get!
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Barbara Graham on November 2, 2017 at 12:15 PM
I agree about horses in motion, and this is the motion I have, such as it is.  The horses are going where the stallion they were looking at wants them to go, at least for the moment.  After this they came back, and that's when I got close enough to take the other pictures.  This isn't processed because there's no point in processing it, except that it's rotated some.  P.S. Dennis, show this to your wife. :)
Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on November 5, 2017 at 7:50 PM
This is a good look at these three horses with their colors showing well in a good looking setting.  I like how attentive they are, all clearly looking at the same thing (the stallion).  In Yellowstone, the recommended minimum distance for bison is 75 feet...go figure.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments