# Early Morning at the Water Hole **URL:** \ **Category:** Image Critiques\ **Tags:** wildlife\ **Created:** [November 18, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/early-morning-at-the-water-hole/48785 "2025-11-18T02:13:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gDan52](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/gdan52/32/50924_2.png) [@gDan52](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/gDan52)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/early-morning-at-the-water-hole/48785/1 "2025-11-18T02:13:56Z")
![A Pair at the Water Hole.jpg](https://images.naturephotographers.network/original/3X/b/5/b59c8547441f5193978ce6bdb89a72a634d39019.jpeg) > **Critique Style Requested:** _Standard_ > > 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: ---
**Author:** ![stephen\_rauch](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@stephen\_rauch](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/stephen_rauch)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/early-morning-at-the-water-hole/48785/2 "2025-11-18T02:37:40Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Glenys\_Passier](https://assets.naturephotographers.network/user_avatar/community.naturephotographers.network/glenys_passier/32/33963_2.png) [@Glenys\_Passier](https://community.naturephotographers.network/u/Glenys_Passier)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 5:28am UTC](https://community.naturephotographers.network/t/early-morning-at-the-water-hole/48785/3 "2025-11-18T05:28:26Z")
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. Such a joy to see these horses.