Goat Anyone? C&C

[max3k]

Got a few photos at the Magnolia Garden in Charleston SC. Canon Rebel XS, kit lens 18-55

 

[thenikonguy]

here i was, coming to see a goat, and all i got was a tree, a ram and a fat pig.. dang

 

[Jaszek]

Animal Classification FAIL. Just to clear up
1 is a tree
2 is a ram
3 is a big ass hog.

 

[shed301]

here i was, coming to see a goat, and all i got was a tree, a ram and a fat pig.. dang

hey i like the fat pig.. reminds me of a certain family member :lmao:

 

[Bad Andy]

Some of my thoughts on the photos:

1) I really like the composition, but the exposure looks off a little. The tree is too dark, and the sky/lake is a little overblown. Maybe try playing with the contrast and turning it down a little?

2) Cute pose, but focus looks like it is on the nose, and not on the eye. It bothers me that the sharpest thing in the picture is the railing. Maybe the ram was moving around a lot and that caused parts of it to not be as sharp. Also, the blown spot on the snout is bothersome.

3) Mmmmm.... Bacon. The composition isn't that exciting to me. I can smell the smoker cooking now.

-Andy

 

[max3k]

goat, ram, same thing right?......bah lol

 

[mooimeisie]

Love the composition of #1.

 

[dhilberg]

goat, ram, same thing right?......bah lol

A ram is a male sheep.

1. I like the idea here, but the time of day you shot it makes for heavy shadows underneath. I would try shooting at the golden hour. Either that or silhouette the tree against the sky (or both). It's a cool looking tree though, composition is good.

2. I like this one. Shows the curiosity of the creature in question, the visible eye looks to be in focus. I would have closed down the aperture a bit to get the nose more in focus though, it's distracting. The hot spots on the snout and fence are also distracting. If you shot the image in RAW you may be able to recover those areas.

3. This one does nothing for me personally. You could have used a different angle, if possible.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Beautiful tree but I agree that it might help to shoot it at a different time of day.

#2 and 3 just don't do anything for me.

But I'm interested in how anyone decided 1/ this is not a goat, and 2/ it's a male (I sure don't see any b*lls).

 

[dhilberg]

Beautiful tree but I agree that it might help to shoot it at a different time of day.

#2 and 3 just don't do anything for me.

But I'm interested in how anyone decided 1/ this is not a goat, and 2/ it's a male (I sure don't see any b*lls).

I didn't want to have to say this, but I did a little goat vs. sheep research earlier because I was curious myself, but didn't have time to post. I think the first two original responders thought it's a ram because it has horns. It has to be an uncastrated male to be a ram and like you said, I don't see any yams here.

According to the experts (not me), goats and sheep are commonly confused. Rather than spell it all out, I'll just link to the sources and everyone can draw their own conclusions:

Sheep 101: Sheep and Goats
The difference between sheep and goats
The Difference Between Sheep & Goats: Raising Sheep: Farm Animal Facts | eHow.com

According to them, the easiest way to tell the difference between the two is to look at their tails. Goat tails generally point up, sheep down. But we can't see that here unfortunately.

 

[bp4life71]

here i was, coming to see a goat, and all i got was a tree, a ram and a fat pig.. dang

hey i like the fat pig.. reminds me of a certain family member :lmao:

The mother in law?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

According to the experts (not me), goats and sheep are commonly confused.

According to them, the easiest way to tell the difference between the two is to look at their tails. Goat tails generally point up, sheep down. But we can't see that here unfortunately.

I spent and still spend enough time around horned goats that I didn't think twice about the photo not being of one as stated by the OP. But I am no expert either. It just seemed that, without seeing the coat, it was pretty darn hard to tell.

Everyone being so sure of themselves, I did the same research you did and found out that even the coat doesn't seem to help. Thus my remark.

 

[stockdogtta]

Little insight on the goat/sheep/ram debate thingy...the facial markings is of a goat...the light stripes down the face by the eyes...probably has some Toggenburg breed in it....horns doesnt mean it is a male goat...buck/wether....but from what I can see the shape of the horns...little wider/flater and curves to the side a bit instead of straight back like on a female goat/doe... looks to be a male..which is probably a wether...cut male goat.... being at a public place....bucks stink really bad in the fall.
# 1 and 2..I like the idea of the shots...3 doesnt do anything for me.