Brumbies

[the_camera_poser]

Hi all,

I was up in the Australian Alps National Park the other day, and we came across a small herd of Brumbies that were unusually tolerant of us. Usually you're lucky to get within a kilometer of them in open country. These ones let me slowly walk to with about 40-50 meters of them. Check out the beautiful head on the stallion!

This was taken with a 30D, a 100-400, Full manual, Av 5.6, TV 1/500, ISO 200, 400mm, handheld.

I'd like to get it blown up to a good size for my daughter's wall.

What do you think of the photo? Are there any composition faults or pointers you can provide? There's been a bit of processing, but not too much. Does the photo appear to pop to you? It didn't downsize very well, there's a lot more contrast in the full-sized one.

Thanks, Bob

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa128/bobthefish_album/brumbiesdps.jpg

[netbymatt]

Wow, yes the photo does pop for me. The composition is great, you kept the horses below center just enough that you didn't break the rule of thirds, and your depth of field is excellent. I'm also surprised at how sharp the horses are, considering the 400mm focal length hand held.

[the_camera_poser]

Thanks Matt

[peeperita]

it's a great catch.....what a thrill it must be to photograph wild horses...

the depth of field bothers me....but, it's not like you're going to have a chance at this again anytime soon.....so maybe next time you use a low perspective like this one, look to see if it's possible to widen that area of focus to include the ground.......and again....probably not all that easy since you are photographing moving subjects.....a little cropping of this image as it is might help to eliminate some of that foreground.....

nice job!

peeper

[the_camera_poser]

I was standing on a rock to get them- I think they let me get that close because I was walking along a fold in the hillside, and I didn't loom that tall to them. I tried to get on the sme horizontal level with them, and they turned their butts to me and lazily walked away. I think they were laughing....

It could make a nice cropped panorama though- I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the C&C Peeper.

[prrs4me]

Beautiful animals. I think your picture is great considering how skittish they are. It's amazing that they are actually looking at you. Great catch.

[Tami19]

Wow.. I think you have done an amazing job with this. I love how you've managed to keep the horses clear - the play of sunlight glinting on their coats just make you sit there and go "wow".

Great job!

[the_camera_poser]

Thanks guys. I just got asked if that picture could be used by a stationary company :-)

[Teewinot]

Bob,

Excellent capture. Fantastic focus and composition. The only thing I would change is the lighting in the bottom third of the photo...it's in the shadows and competes for attention against your subject because it's so dark. Could you work with this area in post processing? Perhaps you could create a mask and brighten the area in curves or something. Other than that, great job. What a sight to see. Oh, and congrats on being contacted by a stationary company! :)

[the_camera_poser]

Thanks Tee