Pronghorn yearling portrait – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Photographing birds was slow yesterday on Antelope Island State Park but a small herd of Pronghorn showed up close enough to the road to take a few portraits of them before they crossed the road and went down a hill. I am always tickled when I am able to get portraits of pronghorns because before I bought a longer lens and before I visited Antelope Island where the pronghorn are used to people I wasn’t able to get close enough to take portraits, I was barely able to get close enough to them to get images that clearly showed they were pronghorn at all. When I lived in Colorado it seemed by the time I pulled over to get images they were high-tailing it out of the area.
Pronghorn buck portrait – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The Pronghorn on Antelope Island State Park are used to vehicles and used to humans on foot. They are protected on the island and aren’t hunted so they aren’t as skittish. So I am able to not only get full body images but portraits too.
Pronghorn are not true antelopes but resemble Old World antelope so the name has stuck. It would seem odd to call Antelope Island SP by the name Pronghorn Island State Park though.
I am very fortunate to live in an area where I can see these beautiful creatures up close and that is some thing I don’t take for granted.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Pronghorn photos plus facts and information about this species.
Joining in with the chorus of ooh and ahh. Thank you.
Beautiful portraits, Thank you !
I used to see something like this in southern Saskatchewan, I called them antelopes but think they were pronghorn. They would stand in the tall grasses and peer at us from a safe distance, but their run was graceful.It is nice to see them up close in these photos.Beautiful creatures.
I love the Pronghorns, they look so beautiful. Thank you Mia for the photos.
Beautiful Mia! Years of late have missed seeing them on the Prarie–Home developments have pushed Antelope out of the area and hardly see them anymore! What a tragety for SE Denver!
oh beautiful, beautiful … glorious portraits of these lovely creatures!!!