The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The toughest part of photographing wild horses is to find them in an an area of over 150,000 acres. On this morning, in late October, 2025, I found over 18 horses in the first 90 minutes at a couple of water holes at Sand Wash Basin near Maybell, Colorado. Then there was a lull for several hours before finding another couple of bands later in the day.
Specific Feedback
I was hoping to find horses in the early morning light, however, it was around 9 AM before I found the first of the bands. Now the light was bright, nary a cloud in the sky. I decided to process the image as it was in real time, not trying to change the light.
Technical Details
Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and a Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6/6.3 @ 600mm 1/1250 sec f/8 ISO 400 Edited in LR /PS
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
Emotional Impact and Mood:
Composition:
Balance and Visual Weight:
Depth and Dimension:
Color:
Lighting:
Processing:
Technical:
This is a tough one Gary. I’ve been there before - the morning turns to midday and your left with bright light directly overhead. Usually when the sun is high, I start thinking black and white. What if you were to try to isolate the brown horse, make it a portrait - process in color and try experiementing in BW. I also see shadows going right to left. So there is a light source that is not too high, what if you darkened the background a bit to enhance the brown horse and throw in a light source using a Radial Gradient from the right side. Just some thoughts…
This is great Gary! The horses are really showing off their wildness with their muddy coats and knotted manes.
The light looks difficult but I think you’ve handled it very well. The poses are lovely and the arid landscape is something I truly love. You’ve captured great detail where it needs to be.
I think there could be another version lurking here. Purely suggestions. I would consider cropping from the left to eliminate the dung pile (but you will lose a bit of shadow) and crop from the top to where the vegetation starts. The roan has a bit of a magenta cast IMO. The mane on the bay might look OK if you lifted the shadows a bit to show off the beautiful tangelments of mane.
