Pronghorn
Pronghorn in the grass Custer State Park, South Dakota
Pronghorn
In 2017 my family took a road trip across the country from Los Angeles to Maine and back. We spent six weeks on the road seeing some of the amazing places this country has to offer. One of my favorites…. ok there’s a ton of favorites, but one of them that we spent time in is called Custer State Park in South Dakota. This was our first time to Custer SP let alone South Dakota! When we arrived at the park we made a pit stop in the Nature and Welcome Center to see what the park had to offer beyond what I had researched. I remember asking about animals and where I could find them and when. The Ranger I spoke with advised me to wake up before sunrise if I wanted to capture images of animals. I don’t recall exactly how many days we were in Custer but, one night I informed my family that when they woke up in the morning I would be gone, out doing animal photography. I set out about 5am and drove as far away from the campgrounds as I figured I could get. I remember driving through a really pretty valley and seeing quite a bit of Bison activity. As I got into the middle of the valley I was at one point stuck in a Bison jam and my truck was surrounded by several hundred bison, it was quite a site to see. Eventually the herd made a path for me to continue on out of the valley to a large meadow which opened up to miles of flat land. I drove for a while but didn’t see much and by now the sun was about 15 degrees above the horizon and casting really warm light and long shadows. I decided to turn around and head back to the campground but hoping to see some animal activity on my way back. The next 30 minutes are so vivid in my mind, I will never forget them.
One of the animals the Ranger told me about when we first arrived was the “…elusive Pronghorn. Most of the time you will only see them off in the distance walking along ridge lines or grazing far from the road.” he said. For the most part he was spot on, but not this morning. I drove around a bend that slid to my right which put the sun directly behind me and there in the grass about 20 yards from the road was the Pronghorn you see in the photograph above. He was beautiful. He was alone. I had to be very careful in order to get a shot. I slowed the truck way down and just to make sure I didn’t come back empty handed I shot from the truck. I pulled the truck over and parked and shot some more images. Very slowly I made my way out of the truck and closed the door as silently as I possibly could. I knocked off a couple more images. I just took a moment and stood there to not spook him then I very slowly walked across the road keeping the sun to my back. I fired a couple more frames. The Pronghorn just stood there watching me. Over the next 10 minutes I moved very slowly and deliberately into the gras area but kept a healthy distance from him. What happened next just blew my mind…. he sat down. What??? How could an animal I was told was so skittish be this comfortable with my presence? Eventually I ended up about, maybe, 35’ to 40’ from him? That’s totally a guess as I look across my basement where I’m writing this and visualize my distance. I decided, well, if he’s this comfy and wants to sit, I think he’s giving me an invitation to do the same, so I did. I sat down which changed my perspective for the better and it was rather amazing. To be sitting like this with an animal and not be perceived as a threat but also not in his space to where he becomes to comfortable around humans. Wild animals should never be comfortable around people, it’s dangerous for both parties. I remember a rule I heard once, something about putting your thumb up and if it covers the animal you’re ok, but I don’t exactly remember the whole thing. But I never take being around wild animals lightly. Anyway, he and I sat in the grass together for about 15 minutes just enjoying the sunrise. I would shoot a couple frames every once in a while but he was always looking toward the sun to my left and what I really wanted was him to turn his head to his left across his body for the sunlight to light up the far side of his head which to me would be a better position overall. Finally, I got my chance and it didn’t last long. I got the shot and it was exactly what I had wanted.
Details:
Canon 5D Mark IV
File Type: RAW
Lens: 70-200mm L IS at 173mm
ISO: 100
Shooting Mode: AE
Shutter: 1/1600
Aperture: f2.8
Exposure Compensation: -1 1/3
Being able to sit in the grass with this animal made a world of difference in framing this image. Fortunately for me the background grass field raised up to the level of the top of his antlers. Had the background gone dark as you can see across the top of the image I would have had to raise up a little. With the brighter background he popped out a little more considering his antlers are dark. The sun shining on the bright cream colored fur along his face brings so much more life to this image than when he was facing me. Watch for angles in faces of people and animals when you are photographing them. Watch how the light creates highlights and shadows and use them to your advantage. Understanding light is the key to great photographs.
Until next time…
