Mary Ann Carrasco
July 2026 - Here's Looking at You
Original
About the Image(s)
This image was taken in early June during a photography workshop centered on wild horses and burros near Benton Springs, CA. I used the Nikon Z9, with 28-400 lens at 400mm, ISO 1400, f/11, 1/1600. I did a bit of editing in camera raw, cropped and removed the distraction in the lower right corner. This was taken very late in the day as sun was beginning to set. I look forward to your comments.
6 comments posted
Mary Ann, you captured the catch light in the horse in the foreground. You can see the calm in the horse's eye and it looks like there was a slight wind blowing creating interest with movement in the horse's mane. My preference would be to see a less tight crop of the horse in the background that would include the entire ear. I like that you cropped the set of ears out at the bottom and the other horse in the far background. It is a little more difficult to get all the body parts you want when you are capturing a herd of horses. Posted: 07/06/2026 02:09:01
Cindy, thank you for your comments.I agree, it would be better to have more of the horse behind. I'll have to go back and see if I got any as I was in burst mode. When I picked this one, my goal was to get catch light in the eye of both horses but maybe that is not important for the horse in the background. Posted: 07/09/2026 16:49:26
Mary Ann, your photo captures the feeling of intimacy between the horses. Nice end-of-day lighting on the horse in front that not only lets the catch light show, but the colors of its coat and mane. While front horse's upright ears show that he's watching the people, his eyes look calm. Since you didn't catch the entire ear of the horse in the background, another option would be to crop off the entire ear and just include the watchful eye. What an wonderful opportunity for wild horse photography! Posted: 07/09/2026 19:47:34
Mary Ann, this is a beautiful photo of the horses. You've done a good job with the post-processing, and I like your crop. You keep giving me ideas of places I'd like to visit when I'm back in California and also keep me thinking of adding the Z 28-400 to my collection. How do you like it? I remember we were discussing the 100-400 vs the 180-600 a couple of months ago. Did you make a decision? Posted: 07/09/2026 23:56:02
Robert, thank you for your comments. I absolutely love the Z28-400 lens. It is my "go to" lens. Yes, I made a decision and had to chuckle when I saw your question as I just purchased the 180-600 lens. When I attended the wild horse workshop, one participant was using the 180-600 and another was using the 100-400 with extenders. Both were happy with their choices. But when I realized that with extenders, light is lost and would bring me the same as the long lens, I was leaning towards the longer one. I also watched a Steve Perry video where he explained some of the issues in using extenders (although minimal) it pushed me to the purchase of the 180-600. I just got it and haven't had a chance to use it yet. But we leave for the coast this week and I plan to practice with it taking all those sea birds! In hindsight, I would have liked a longer lens for the horse workshop as there were times when the horses were pretty far away. But I think in a situation like that, one almost needs two cameras with two different lenses...not in my future any time soon! Posted: 07/10/2026 22:57:51
Hi Mary Ann,
It's a beautiful shot! The image is very sharp with all the details of the horses' faces. I especially like the affection they showed to each other.
I'd prefer to crop tighter on top (as Ruth's suggestion) to avoid the horse's ear was cut off. Posted: 07/12/2026 18:40:49
It's a beautiful shot! The image is very sharp with all the details of the horses' faces. I especially like the affection they showed to each other.
I'd prefer to crop tighter on top (as Ruth's suggestion) to avoid the horse's ear was cut off. Posted: 07/12/2026 18:40:49