Well-Behaved Subjects

Let me tell you two contrasting stories—my (to date) two serious attempts at animal photography.

Once upon a time, I tried to take some pictures of my cat. He wandered all around everywhere, wouldn't hold still, and seemed to be purposefully ruining my lighting with every tiny movement.


Once upon a time, I was on my way to a little creek area near my house. I stopped at a neighbor's enclosure where they keep goats. The goats were the perfect subjects. They seemed genuinely interested in my photography efforts.




click to enlarge, or see it on Flickr


Although the photo turned out slightly overexposed near the top, the subject and lighting couldn't have been better. I shot with my white balance set to "cloudy," and my flash's dimmest setting to fill in the faces a bit. Lovely. Thank you, goats!