The Story Behind The Image

Antelope Island, Utah is home to a herd of around 500 American Bison. The herd roams free throughout much of the state park that encompasses the entire island. Based on guidance we received, my wife and I drove down the park road that runs nearly the length of island down the eastern side in search of the magnificent beasts. After hours of searching, we gave up and thought we would take a quick look at the park’s campground on north west corner. Low and behold, we found the herd. Many of which were grazing in the campground! Can you image stepping out of your RV with your morning coffee and being greeted by this fellow?

The extreme dynamic range between the dark, almost black face of the animal and the very light dry grass makes it difficult to expose the image without losing either shadow detail of the highlight detail. In this case I chose to expose for the shadows to capture the detail and textures of the bison’s face, knowing that I would later convert to b&w and further push the background to pure white. I find the resulting image striking, especially when printed on a large 20” x 30” canvas.

Safety Note: Bison are large powerful animals. Do not approach them. I was safely in a vehicle and using a long telephoto lens some distance away.