Wild Horses on the Pony Express Trail

It was wonderful to photograph these wild horses on Pony Express Road.  Wildlife photography is most enjoyable when animals have no fear of people.  This usually happens in national parks and wildlife refuges. Evidently these horses haven’t been rounded up or harassed very much. I started photographing with long lenses. 

These stallions fighting were a pleasant surprise at the end of the day. The best wildlife photography seems to take place within seconds before it is over.

The cutest newborn pony was curious about my partner Patti. She was having so much fun, but I had to warn her about this pony knocking over her tripod or taking a bite out of her camera.

I had to switch to a wide angle lens when they allowed me to get up close and personal. The mother seemed to be very proud of her foal. This was the most photogenic group I saw all day.

 This was the last photo from the day. I look forward to going out there to camp soon so I can spend a full day with the herd.

Fall Colors in Midway

Due to the intense reds from peaking Big Tooth Maples near Midway Utah, I returned to an area where I had been two days earlier. It seems that in two days the aspens had also started to change.

People manifest their need for excitement in many different ways.

I was so excited about the peaking reds that I returned with my truck and camper for an evening followed up by a morning session. It was an impulsive, or possibly a destructive testosterone surge that made me head up a steep rocky dirt road. There were several times when I asked why I had done this.

I heard some strange noises from the rear of my truck and realized that my camper was rocking in the truck bed and had in fact broken loose from 4 turn buckles. I felt shaken by my roots.

It was too late in the day to even think about dealing with this. I was comforted by the fact that the camper would not fall off the truck bed going downhill and it was mostly downhill to get home.

The light was mostly spent for the day, but it was not too late to walk a mile or so uphill to see where I could focus my energies in the morning.  Despite walking a mile or so uphill, I came to the conclusion that the best morning shooting was within a few hundred yards of where my injured truck and I would spend the evening.  Thin clouds in the morning intensified the colors and provided hours of great shooting under soft light.

It was a relief to delay the tenuous drive home wondering if my camper and truck would get separated.

Looking at the results of my work, it is the first time I have ever thought about making colors less saturated on the computer. I didn’t want the photos to look fake in any way. I strive to present my photographs as they appear in nature.