Dall Sheep
Dall sheep ram, Brooks Range, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, w/1.4x (700mm), 1/200 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400
Dall sheep are currently in the rut season, when the rams are mingling with the ewes. I’ve made a few attempts at photographing these animals in the snow, but the logistical sequences never worked out. It can be a challenge because it often requires hiking, some times high, in snowy mountain terrain. In this case, the hike was a short one, as the animals were already in high mountain country in the Brooks range, somewhat near an accessible roadway. Conditions were shadowed, and the light was low, but not too low to photograph. Initially the rams watched intently as we approached but showed no signs of alarm. Eventually, after waiting a while, they came near the larger group of ewes, which offered a few good opportunities for sheep portraits and a few behaviour shots. Exposing white on white subjects is a common winter issue in Alaska’s arctic and you can reference my previous post “mink and tricky exposures” about this process.
After I had a few good exposures, I increased the f/stop to 6.3 to get a tiny bit more depth of field. Since I was on tripod and the ram was not moving the reduced shutter speed of 1/200 was not a problem.
What a beautiful animal. Great shot Patrick!
Hey Patrick
Wow – that’s an awfully nice ram. I’m surprised you were able to get close enough at all. Great job.
Cheers
Carl
Thanks Tad and Carl,
Actually, I did not expect to get that close either Carl. The rams came right toward me after about 20 minutes. The male species acts unpredictably with certain influences. Or is that predictably?
What a stunning ram and equally stunning shot. You have a real gift, Patrick. Our vacation to Denali, Katmai is now 2 mos. in the past, but I think of it every day.
Patrick,
Thanks, and yes that was a rare opportunity to photograph such a nice ram in the winter time. I’m surprised he allowed the approach. Sounds like you will need to make a return trip to Alaska.