Here, finally, are the balance of my favorite Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) images from last winter. (I previously posted my absolute favorite here.)
I made these images near Georgetown, Colorado. This place is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the sheep are plentiful and largely habituated to people. That means that there are many opportunities to make creative images of the sheep. As an added bonus, the best time to photograph the sheep is in the depths of winter. This is generally a slow time for wildlife photography, so the sheep opportunity is welcome.
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On the other hand, the best sheep area is right off of Interstate 25. Indeed, as you can see from this image, the sheep are attracted to the highway — they lick minerals from the side of the road. The highway is hazardous to the sheep. And it destroys any notion of enjoying the solitude of the natural world. (It’s particularly nice when the traffic backs up and the snowboarders holler at photographer and sheep.) Still, take your sheep where you find them.
I’m already looking forward to next winter. Here is a gallery of some other favorite images from last season. If you’re reading this by e-mail or RSS feed, please click through to the blog to view this gallery with the correct formatting:
