Sheep Drive, Utah

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Image: Sheep Roundup, Utah

Description: Driving east from Cedar Breaks I lucked upon a huge herd of sheep being driven across the highway and up an adjacent hillside. It took them quite a while to get across, so I was able to turn off the engine, get out and snap away with a telephoto zoom.

Specific Feedback Requested: Would appreciate any comments, but in particular, I really appreciate this week’s challenge because it made me look through my files and find images lacking in color contrast . I found that it was the analogous (downright drab) colors dominating the frame that make this image, because they make the cowboy stand out. It was a lesson in how we hunt for photo targets, not just by light or drama or the arrangement of features in the image, but by finding a subject set off by vast dullness. Dirty white sheep in muted green Chaparral in dry foothills – perfect! I confess that for this version of the scene, I cropped out some dark green Junipers.

Sheep Drive, Utah
Sheep Drive, Utah2732×1534 1.07 MB

Pertinent technical details or techniques: None; handheld in bright sunlight. Olympus EM-1. I’m sure I stopped down a bit.

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James, you’ve got a good capture of this sheep herding event where the muted colors work well. I like where you’ve put the herder with the dust from the horse’s hooves and the sheep at the edge showing some action.

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Thanks Mark