Pronghorn buck and West Desert sky island mountains – Nikon D810, f8, 1/8000, ISO 800, Nikkor 18-200mm at 105mm, natural light
I found and photographed this Pronghorn buck in Utah’s West Desert after photographing birds at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in April of 2019. After a long winter it felt terrific to feel the warmth of the sun and to see the wide views of the desert playas and sky island mountains again. The Covid-19 pandemic prevented me from feeling safe about going out to see this location last year.
This area was once the bottom of Lake Bonneville which covered most of western Utah and parts of Nevada and Idaho. Only the tops of the mountains in the background would have been above water back then.
Earlier this week I found this Pronghorn image in my archives while I was looking for another image. I decided that to process it and share it today. Part of the reason is that I wanted to show that a compelling and visually interesting wildlife photo can show sweeping vistas when the bird or wildlife subject is smaller in the frame.
Yes, I did take this photo with a pro body DSLR but it actually could have been taken with a point and shoot camera or even a cell phone to produce similar results.
I did take images of this pronghorn using my longer lens that day but since it was after 11 am in the morning and the sun was high in the sky I had a hard time getting a catch light in the eyes of the buck. The absence of the catch light would have been and was extremely noticeable in those photos but in this image the lack of a catch light isn’t critical since the wildlife subject is small in the frame.
What balances out this image is the contrast between the fresh green growth on the playa, the craggy peaks of the sky island mountains, and the softer patterns of the clouds in the sky.
Just looking at this photo makes me want to head out to the West Desert as soon as I can. I am so very much at home there.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Pronghorn photos plus facts and information about this species and here to see more of my West Desert photos.
Beautiful photo. It is not very green yet in the desert down by Kanab. I thought the cottonwoods would start to leaf out but not yet! We have seen many pronghorns.
👍❤️🤟
This photograph would make anyone want to head for the West Desert!
Superb.
Thank you so much for starting my day with incredible beauty.
Gorgeous. The Pronghorn is pretty neat too.
The Prong Horn is lovely and the scene is stunning! What a great photo!