More Favorites from my Wild Horse Shoot
Here are a few of my favorite close-up shots from my Christmas day wild horse shoot near Cody, Wyoming.
Here are a few of my favorite close-up shots from my Christmas day wild horse shoot near Cody, Wyoming.
Here's the only real fighting I saw today - and it didn't last long. This was the only action in this sequence.
I love Heart Mountain - it's a sort of sentinel that stands guard over this part of Wyoming. Here's a shot I like of two wild horses with Heart Mountain in the background.
A large herd of antelope scattered as we moved in - it was interesting to see them run directly through this group of wild horses.
For wild horses, this group came in pretty close to check us out. Taken with my telephoto lens, but they were still pretty tight.
Here's a series of two wild stallions in a minor scuffle. Just one dominant male warning off the other.
Last Christmas day, I was taking pictures in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. This Christmas, I found myself outside Cody, WY in the McCullough Peaks taking pictures of the wild horse herd that makes its home there. Here is a series of pics from today's shoot.
Since its debut in the fall of 2007, the Olympus E3 DSLR has been the object of my tech-lust. I've been shooting an Olympus E500 since early 2006 and have built up a fairly decent stable of Zuiko digital lenses that would work well with the E3. I also have an FL50 external flash that would work with the E3. Sitting at the top of the Olympus DSLR lineup, the E3 is a natural progression as my photography improves and I start to push the limits of my E500 (which I love, by the way).
That said, I'm beginning to rethink my commitment to Olympus. It all started when I read this post at Luminous Landscape. I am a big fan of this site and consequently place more credence in their insight than I might a review I find at Amazon. This review reinforced what's been nagging me for quite a while - the E3 just doesn't have the chops when you compare it against the other top-of-the-line cameras from Canon and Nikon.
First, the jump from 8 megapixel (my E500) to 10 megapixel (the E3) just isn't as great as I'd like to see when transitioning to a new body. Although I'm not a pixel chaser, I do like printing large prints - one of the few areas where additional megapixels really make a difference. Additionally, the E3 is capable of shooting only 5 frames per second. Respectable, but not top-of-the-line. Finally, the 4/3 sensor in the E3 (and the E500, for that matter) is just not great at higher ISOs. My kids are into swimming - a very challenging environment for shooting action shots. Having the option to boost ISO would really make my life easier. As it is, I have to resort to external flash - which is not great due to the glare you get off the water. I've also read some not-so-great information about the tendency for the camera to hunt when focusing in low light - a killer if you're trying to shoot action shots.
That said, the E3 has much to make it attractive. First, they've built image stabilization into the body. Therefore, every lens you strap on is going to benefit. Second, the E3 has a live-view, articulating LCD. This would be awesome for taking shots overhead, close to the ground, etc.
At the end of the day, it really comes down to what type of photographer I want to be when I grow up. If I'm shooting in a controlled environment (studio, outdoors in full light, etc.), I could probably get by with the E3. But if I want to venture into more challenging stuff, like sports/action/event photography, I'm thinking I'd be better off investing the cash in a camera that is more suited to the task, like the Nikon D3 or even D300. Of course, you're talking quite a jump in price: the D3 is just over $4k at Amazon.
I don't have the answers yet, but the fact that I'm even second-guessing my commitment to the Olympus lineup is interesting. Looks like I need to start doing my homework.
I love it when the web works like it's supposed to. I'd like to hike to the top of Heart Mountain in northern Wyoming sometime this winter. I've driven around Heart Mountain for years, but admittedly have never looked for the trailhead that would take me to the summit - although I was quite confident that there must be one. So the other night I did a quick Google search and immediately came up with an excellent description of the trail on SummitPost.org. The description includes photos, a description of the hike, and detailed directions to get to the trailhead. Bingo!
You can check out the Heart Mountain Summit Post here, and then traipse through the site looking for the next hike you'd like to bag: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/282559/heart-mountain.html.
I've recently joined RedBubble as an alternative to ImageKind for selling prints of my photography. I intend to keep my ImageKind gallery - they offer more framing options than RedBubble and I know they do great work based on past experience. Joining RedBubble is simply an alternative approach to increase exposure - plus their business model allows me to create a gallery at no charge.
I also like that RedBubble is social-network aware: I've already added a RedBook slideshow to my Facebook profile. They also provide an embeddable slide show that can be snapped right into your blog or web site:
I'm a Software Product Manager living and working in Bozeman, Montana. I started this blog as a place to discuss/display anything that comes to mind: work, photography, golf, software development, requirements, project management, x-country skiing, religion - anything's fair game!
You can check out my other blog at www.freemyfotos.com and view a larger collection of my photos on my flickr photostream (http://tinyurl.com/49cys3) . I also have several prints available for purchase at ImageKind (http://images.timleonhardt.com).
