About the Image(s)

This photo was shot during a workshop in the desert area to the west of Salt Lake City on BLM land. Our group leaders took us out in 4-wheel drive vehicles over a period of four days. Each day we went looking for the herd, or sometimes a part of the herd, and then followed them on foot for hours at a time. We got lots of action shots of fights and chases, as it is mating season, but we also witnessed other aspects of life in a wild herd.

The stallion in this photo is past his prime and spends his time on the outskirts of the herd. During our first day we saw him isolate one mare and keep her on the outskirts of the herd with him (she is hidden behind him in this shot, taken on the first day). Over the next two days we spotted him and his female companion in various places, but always on the outskirts of the main group. On the fourth day he lost his mare to a challenging stallion and was left once again on the fringes, alone.

Technical: Sony A1, 100 – 400 mm lens, f/9, 104 mm,1/10000 sec, ISO 3200. Speed was way higher than needed for a horse standing still, but this was taken between action shots and I neglected to change the shutter speed. The new lightroom enhancement feature did a decent job of mitigating the resulting noise.