Where the buffalo roam? (dramatic!)

[ccd333]

From out of the mist, this older bison took its sweet time to come down the south entrance road to Yellowstone Park. It sure seemed surreal at the time. It was very early in the morning and my friend and I were ostensibly the only car on the road at the time. We saw something large and dark in the distance.....didn't actually think it was an animal at that point. When we got closer, what struck me was how methodically this animal was plodding down the road.....seemingly unaffected by anything around it. It was so bizarre to realize that it was keeping "in its lane"! I wanted to take a shot of its face up close (the eyes were bloodshot and fatigued), but those horns that close made me think twice. At the risk of someone crying foul for breaking the one image per post rule, I'm going to add a second shot of it as it passed by (once out of horn pokage range!).....it really supplements the first shot so well and adds another dimension by showing how grizzled it looked. The first shot is my favorite and the one I would like critiqued anyway.

A very dramatic moment....and I think a pretty dramatic shot. A bit sad in a way. Thanks for looking.

Sony DSC-W1
ISO 100
f/5.6
1/320s

Here's the other shot...

 

[Nikon Fan]

I bet this was quite a freaky experience. Thanks for sharing the story along with the shots!!! The first is my fav as well...and I think you did a great job with it. The vanishing point is nice and leads through the shot...the fog or mist adds to the image making it very powerful along with the road and the fact that theirs a buffalo walking down it, in the right lane too

I think the only thing I might do would be to add a frame to this with a darker color. Because the top right hand corner seems blown out, but with a frame I think that it just might work. Again thanks for sharing, this is quite a unique image

 

[thebeginning]

that first shot is definitely awesome. i love the vanishing point created by the road, plus the fog, and how the buffalo seems to be completely oblivious to you. love this one. i agree with amanda about the border. i think if you cropped the sky off the top a bit (just above the trees behind him), it would make it more dramatic too. great great great.

 

[mentos_007]

uuu a real American highway, I see...

 

[dalebe]

great shots! love the whole mood of #1 with the fog and vanishing point, looks a bit of a dangerous position to be in! scary! hope the motorists can see that beast coming!!!

 

[Jeff Canes]

I would swear that animals know how to read those national park signs, Agree #1 is very good and just need a little cropping

 

[ccd333]

Thanks for all of the comments. Not sure what happened here.....the original image is not that blown out.

 

[thebeginning]

that first one seems fine to me exposure-wise. i think the lightness from the fog really enhances the sense of depth in the photo. i wouldnt change anything with contrast or anything.

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

what a great experiance this must have been, love the first shot.. would have darkened it a tad myself.. what luck!

 

[photo gal]

Yes very dramatic!!! And you know I have been to yellowstone and seen some of these creatures up close and personal like. It wasn't until after I got out of the car and went in for the closeups that I found the flyer stated BEWARE these buffalo have been known to kill humans and destroy cars and such (it's been awhile so I forget the wording) But anyway great captures here!!!! : )

 

[Fadi]

lol, great shot. I had a similiar experiance with a buffalo at Yellow Stone during a snow storm.

 

[John E.]

Man oh man, great shot, the fog and the lonely Bison walking down the road, very dramatic. It would be near picture perfect in my eyes if it wasn't for that damn line in front of the buffalo. I am not sure if that can be called blown out in the far right, may just be the fog, but I like the whitness of it.