Most of the time photographing Bison is a bit like watching grass grow… They just stand around, head down and eat. This nice brisk morning in the Grand Tetons, there were a group of bison who seemed to be enjoying romping around in the snow. This one was chasing another, fortunately, not charging me!!! even though the angle looks like it. As he made his run I was already locked onto him and waited for the fortunate turn towards me. Loved the feet off the ground, the snow shapes that formed around his front legs and the frost/snow on the face.
Cropped to a vertical from the original horizontal, but full frame top to bottom.
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Olympus EM-1 Mark II, 300mm f/4 with 1.4x TC, Handheld
1/640, f/5.6, ISO 400
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Wow Keith, this is awesome. I bet you were ready to bolt, too, in case he was to change direction. And if it did, I am sure your Oly would be integral to you getting out of the way
This is just a mighty image, Keith. No nit whatsoever. The flying snow around his front legs add so much drama.
Excellent action image. I like the effect of the oncoming charging Bison with the snow flying around the front legs just above the feet. I might consider a couple other cropping ideas such as cropping the top just below the snow on the very top of the image and perhaps adding a slightly more room on the right side but this is fine as is and the other crops would be just to see how it looks. Glad you were far enough away that it didn’t run you over.
I really like the contrasts here and the moment but probably the image could get a bit of the air if not cropped to a vertical unless the bison is on the left side. I would like to see more space on the sides (especially left side) and a bit at the bottom.
Powerful image and the motion makes the image. The snow on the face is an added bonus. So often they are standing or eating which is not all that interesting. This is a beauty.
Sweet, Keith. The wonders of the telephoto lens-makes it look like he’s right on top of you. You caught a wonderful action pose in this one. Well done.
Fine action, Keith. I like it for the same reasons as you. It’s nice to be able to frame horizontally and have the pixels for this capture, much easier than tracking vertically, especially handheld.
Great action shot that jumps on the viewer !
Since you cropped from the horizontal frame, you can have many cropping options and this one works very well, can be used as a cover shot !
Hello Keith. I was thoroughly impressed as soon as I laid eyes on this image. I don’t know how this image could be any more dramatic then it already is. In fact I’ve never seen anything like it. For me it is both technically and artistically superb.
Superb image! The only thing I can think of is a little more space to the left, as Krzysztof Wojciechowski suggests. I don’t agree with Krzysztof about the bottom: that’s fine for me.
As you started with a horizontal frame, more space at the left is probably possible.
Pretty sweet shot, Keith. I particularly like those raised legs and the rings of snow around them. The composition works for me, as-is. With the angle of the bison the inclusion of a bit more canvas on the left side works.
What a powerful image of a powerful animal! And you are right, photographing Bison can be about as exciting as photographing a herd of cows sometimes, but you were able to pull some excitement out! Great capture! I think you made the right decision with the vertical crop but I think I want to see it more centered in the frame. I think centering it might give it a little more tension and help give the viewer a sense of urgency.?
