Goat

[Ralph Thornton]

Being new here I'm pokin' around seeing what everyone is up too. So many interesting topics. Winter has been hangin on so hard that I haven't done a whole lot of photography lately, except maybe my trip up Mount Brown (I'll post a shot from there soon).

Anyhow I'm looking through my photos from last fall and comparing them to the good work I see here. Last fall I spent several hours photographing mountain goats. Took several hundred pics and this is my favorite.

Canon 5DMKII, Canon 70-200 f4 L IS at 200mm, ISO 200, f6.7 and 1/750 sec.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Love the contrast of the white fur against the OOF backdrop - lovely detail too

 

[Jeff Harper]

I'm in love...

 

[Hamish Gill]

Hasn't he got good sideburns!
I too like the light against the dark!
Good detail too!

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Thanks guys.
It amazes me that I can sit and watch goats for almost 3 hours and take 200-300 images. Then when I look at them later I find only 1 or 2 that are worth much. At least it's not film that I'm throwing away these days eh?

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Hasn't he got good sideburns!
I too like the light against the dark!
Good detail too!

This guy is getting his new winter coat here. The best times IMO to photograph mountain goats is in fall or early spring. Their coats are pretty full then. Most of the summer, when they are easier to find, they are losing their winter coat and their wool is dirty and coming off in big shards. They might be dirty in fall too is they've been rolling in the dust.

 

[Jeff Harper]

All kidding aside that is a fantastic picture,his fur looks like you could just blow into it and it would fluff.So much detail.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Do thier horns get bigger?
Jeffs right, that's a good description! He looks like he would be nice to hug ... Although I'm not sure if want to try

 

[Pete Askew]

I had to read that twice Hamish. I thought it said he would make a nice rug for a second!

 

[Glen Roberts]

I thought it said he would make a nice rug for a second!

It probably would...lol.

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Do thier horns get bigger?
Jeffs right, that's a good description! He looks like he would be nice to hug ... Although I'm not sure if want to try

Goats are born with tiny horns and they do grow as the goat grows. Males (like this one) have larger horns than females.

Hugging might be interesting. I think their wool is a little more scratchy than it looks. Also a hiker in Washington (state) died after being gored by a goat last summer. I believe that a horn punctured his femoral artery causing severe bleeding. So I'll pass on the hugging.

 

[Pete Askew]

So a rug it is then!

 

[Paul Lange]

Or maybe super warm underpants for those cold days out photographing (if you don't mind the itchyness)

 

[Pete Askew]

Just what a back-packer needs I'd say! What do you Reckon Ralph?

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Hmmm! Not so sure. But if the wool was processed nicely and made into something soft, it might just do the trick.

 

[Paul Lange]

Ahh, I see you're a "feel the fleece" kind of guy!

 

[Ralph Thornton]

Ha,ha,ha,ma,wa!

 

[Bryan Hunt]

Great shot love the datail in the coat