Old Red & The Lighthouse

I'll never take animal photographs for granted ever again! To get "Old

Red" to lift his head up for a few seconds and stop munching grass,

involved me jumping up and down, making duck noises, impersonating a

horse, clapping! whistling, .....and generally acting like a complete

lunatic.......I hasten to add that none of this had the slightest effect

on "Old Red" who continued to munch unpreturbed. ....Finally he looked

up to see what all the commotion was about and I got a couple of shots,

much to the dismay of a few onlookers, to whom unwittingly I was

providing free entertainment. : - ) ........This was shot with my new D700

and 50mm 1.4 prime lens. .....Your thoughts and comments are always

appreciated. Thank You!

Sounds like quite the performance Alf! Wish I was there to see/hear it ;-) Here's a trick I learned for photographing horses. Record the noises that other horses make on a small recorder, and at the moment you want the horse you are photographing to look up you play some sounds back on the recorder, and they immediately look alert. Or carry a tin of oats, and rattle it, but prepare to be mugged by your equine subject. In any case your shot turned out magnificently as a result of your efforts. I love it! Hope you enjoy the D700 they're awesome cameras.

All the best,

Neil

Wonderful landscape, I think is excellent the fact that the sharpness is in everywhere.

Well done.

Very nice composition with good lighting, great color and a great story behind it.

Neigh!! Or whatever horses say for great shot... Absolutely beautiful scene... Mike

 

 

Good work (literally) Alf. My daughter is into horse riding and i can testify from my own experience that horses can be the least responsive animals when you try to photograph them especially when they are interested in eating... It's normally best to take them in action (jumping, running etc). I really appreciate the tip from the other poster about the tape recorder, and will definitely try this next time i try my hands at photographing a horse. Having said that you did a wonderful job here. The exposure is spot on and your composition is excellent. I like how the position of the horse and the light house balance each other perfectly in the rule of third grid. Nice warm light as well. I may have tried to burn a bit the foreground grass just to make sure it wouldn't attract the attention away from the rest of the picture being brighter (see my 2 min attempt in PS). But really that's a very minor nit. Excellent work. Regards - michel

Very good - no nits - lovely light.

Alf- In photography the means justify the end. A well captured shot. I remember screaming at a moose once. Fortunately there were no witnesses :)). Regards-Jim

Nice composition and details!

 

Good tonality.

 

Regards(Bobby).

Lovely! Best regards, Ilkka

Absolutely stunning work from you Alf. All your efforts gave you a brilliant composed shot and also you got some exercise, as you know a photographer must have stamina. Probalbly everybody around you are starting to call you the Horse Whisperer :-)

Love the colors and the fantastic lighting. The background are just amazing and old red looks so good with the lighthouse in the background. I prefer your version to the "burned" foreground suggestion which takes away too much of the beautiful light and makes the image looks not correctly exposed. So you have a new 50mm, they are such fantastic lenses and very, very sharp. Congratulations to a very professional shot. Something for the Tourist Board perhaps. Take good care as always Alf and all the best to you and your family from Jannica

Hello Alf:

I wish I could have been behind a tree to see you trying to get Old Red's attention. LOL Well It worked and you have created a beautiful image that captures ones imagination! great composition and lighting! Congratulations on a job well done.

 

Jill

Very nice shot, Alf. Nice composition and detail.

Alf,

 

Wow.....wow.....wow this is beautiful. It looks like you captured the best of two worlds. Great shot . Take care, Patsy

Wonderful shot, alf...lovely light, colors and composition...my best

That one eye engages me that peeks out of what looks like a teenager's hair sweeping across the horse's face, and I adore the long shaggy mane; this horse looks like a sun worshipper! The cool blues, whites, and greens on land, sea and sky are great foil for the the fiery strawberry blonde. The shadow on the rocks that jut out provide a welcome respite for the eye. Lovely photograph.

This is a very striking image. Just enough dark and light tones. The composition is great, a person would never tire of looking at this photo. A bit of advice though DO NOT rattle a can of oats if you are trying to take a picture of a horse. You probably couldn't take the picture fast enough before the horse had his nose in the can of oats :). Where is this taken, if I may ask?

Hmmmmmm. ....love to see you walk around a zoo....! It's amazing how animals react,,,,I was very fortunte, the horse I have had in my shots was one my children and I saw from the time it was a colt. The last time I was able to photograph her, she seemed to be 'showing off for me......such a beauty with long mane and tail....not unlike her rider, a young girl(now a woman I am sure) who had long blonde hair down past her bottom. To see her ride this beauty was a delight.

 

I'll have to look up a D700, but I imagine it is one magnificent camera......the lighting in this shot is the most impressive for me, for it showers the horse, the grasses, and inlet walls in such a way it brings out the golden hues....beautiful details, .....and our eyes then light upon the "light house"......and the horse, I can't get over the 'mane'.....and 'tail' ...so wild and untamed. A truly magical spot Alf...you must have felt so 'satisfied' after you knew you had 'finally captued that golden moment'.......congrats...your 'antics' were well worth the 'embarassment' if any was felt. my sincerest compliments, Gail

amazing shot, love the light and composition, absolutely beautiful...

very good..

You described quite a funny visual there, Alf :-) & it was all very much worth it too...! This is such a beautiful photo, with lovely light, and really a great composition....! Best regards & Happy Easter to you, Marjolein

Great use of evening light, absolutely beautiful!

This is absolutely amazing! One of the best I have seen.

NEAL

 

I keep half expecting someone to post a picture of me in all my glory, trying to capture a photo of Old Red. Thankfully it hasn't happened .......yet!

 

Great advice there Neal, I'll remember the about the recorder......I think I might give the oats a miss though......Yeah I know ...I'm chicken! ....: - )

Thanks for your very kind comments Neal, much appreciated.

 

ESTEBAN

 

Many thanks for your visit and your kind comments.

 

GARY

 

Thank you so much, I'm really pleased you liked it.

 

MICHAEL

 

I wish I was fluent in horse language.....would have made the job a whole lot easier. : - )

Thanks for your imput and very kind comments, much appreciated.

 

MICHEL

 

I don't know about photographing them running and jumping...I was worn out with this one standing still!......: - )

 

Thank you for all your imput and kind comments Michel much appreciated, I shall keep this in mind. Strange that you mention "burning the foreground grass" ..because in actual fact, the grass had already been burned literally a few days before, although the worst part is just to the left of the shot I took.

 

TONY

 

I'm really pleased you have "No NIts" ..... : - ) ..."Nits" in the UK used to have a very different meaning, at school it was used as a slang term for Head Lice, and the district nurse wouyld visit schools in a vain attempt to stamp out the infestations, The District Nurse attracted the nickname "Nitty Nora...head explorer"

Thanks for looking in Tony, much appreciated!

 

JIM

 

Now thats unique......there are lots of horse whisperers about, but there can only be one " Moose Screamer" : - ) the things we'll do to get a shot eh.

Thanks Jim.

 

BOBBY

 

Many thanks for your very kind comments, much appreciated.

 

ILKKA

 

You are very kind, I'm really pleased you liked it.

 

JANNICA

 

Thank you for your very kind comments and also your support and advice, the information you have provided has been invaulable to me. Now as for this excercise, no one told me photography involved jumping, shouting clapping etc etc ...I think I need to top up my vitamins.....my stamina has deserted me! People I suspect were calling me a few things, but I somehow doubt if "Horse Whisperer" was one of them : - )

Thanks again Jannica.

 

Kind Regards from your friend in the UK

 

Alf

 

JILL

 

Thank You, for your very kind comments and observations, I Just know I'd be headline news if you were behind that tree, your photo of me with the headlines "Man Speaks To Horse In Duck Language. : - )

 

JERRY

 

Thanks for looking in, much appreciated!

 

PATSY

 

Always good to hear from you, and I'm really pleased you liked it, Thank you!

 

KALLOL

 

Many thanks for lookin in and your very kind comments!

 

DONNA

 

Wow! Donna your description sounded almost poetic, Thank you!

 

DIANE

 

Many thanks for your very kind comments. I will take your advice about the oats, I don't fancy old red nibbling my lens : - ) I know I have already answered your question about location, but for anyone else that wants to know, this was taken on LLandwynne Island, of the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales, UK

 

GAIL

 

I dare not walk around a zoo, if I started clapping like I was with old red, the keepers would start throwing me fish :- ) ...chances are I wouldn't be let out either!

 

As for embarassment, the episode with the bird cured me of that, I just don't care any more lol. and as Jim mentioned above, "The end Justifies the means"

 

I'm really looking forward to browsing those photo's of the colt you mentioned

 

The D700 is indeed a fine piece of equipment, but what has really struck me in the last few days, is the difference the lens makes, this 50mm f1.4 prime lens has remarkable clarity, I just don't know why I haven't owned one before.

 

Sincere Thanks for your visit and kind words Gail, it is always good to hear from you.

 

SOMNATH

 

Thank you most sincerely for your visit and kind words, much appreciated!

 

 

MEHMET

 

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

MARJOLEIN

 

Many thanks for your kind words and observations, I'm really pleased you liked it!

Happy Easter and Best wishes to you & yours.

 

OVIDIU

 

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments, much appreciated.

 

BOB

 

High praise indeed for the master of street photography, Many Thanks.

 

 

Sincere Thanks and Best Regards To All

 

Alf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent! ~~~~~~~~~~~L