Salt River Wildlife
Just gotta say, “Arizona kicks ass in the variety of subject matter to photograph!”
Had an opportunity to go photograph with my friend Sara Goodnick. She was helping me find the wild horses in the Salt River Area of Fort Mcdowell, AZ. This area is ripe with wildlife. In addition to a couple of horse groups, we came across there was a pretty substantial avian population scattered along the banks of the river. I’ll be looking forward to exploring this area more often in the future. Arizona has so many different ecosystems within a relatively short distance it makes for a great place to play. An hour in almost any direction gives you a significant change in flora and fauna. I believe I have been remiss in photographically exploring my state.
Let’s take a look at a few of the captures. We had just a slight soft layer of clouds for the day which softened shadows ever-so-much which made photographing at the time of day acceptable.
Such gentle creatures. Salt river horse up on the hillside. Rim light made this image work for me.
The framing of the horses with the scrub brush helps tell the story of the wild animals in their environment.
Dig the beard on the horse in the back!
Down by the water I enjoyed the log, cormorant and its reflection. A long lens helps make it possible to get close-up images of the wildlife with disturbing them.
All images captured with the Lumix GH5 and the Leica 100-400mm lens.
I think part of my renewed excitement about my pursuing wildlife photography is the use of the Leica 100-400mm lens on the Lumix bodies with five extra stops of hanholdability. Having that reach has made a HUGE difference in the number of ‘keepers’ from my wildlife excursions.
More from this adventure soon.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
