Where do you think YOU'RE going?

kdog

Nope, you're not going this way either.


You wanna piece of me?


Chicken?


Everybody needs a hug now and then.


Here's the story. These are wild, but inquisitive burros in a remote desert area close to the Colorado River. This pack was over 20 miles from any kind of civilization. They were most likely looking for handouts, but we had nothing to give them. It was a bit disconcerting to have these beasts come right over to us. But these were some of the friendliest ones I've seen. The burros are descended from ones that were originally brought over from Spain and used by miners in the area, and subsequently abandoned along with the mines during hard times. They've lived wild out here ever since.

Funny, I originally got out my 100-400 wildlife lens, but they got too close. So I ended up shooting them with my landscape setup, a Canon 5DMKII, and 16-35mm super-wide angle lens, complete with circular polarizer. I've shot burros before and this was a heck of a lot of fun shooting them with a wide angle this time.

It was an immensely enjoyable encounter, and I hope you enjoy the shots as well.

-joel

Lindiwe

Great set of pictures, and a great story to go with them!

What do burros like in the way of handouts, anyway? Apples? Carrots? Beautiful animals.

kdog

Lindiwe wrote: »

Great set of pictures, and a great story to go with them!

What do burros like in the way of handouts, anyway? Apples? Carrots? Beautiful animals.

Thanks, Lindiwe. I've only ever fed them carrots before. But I'm certain they'd LOVE apples. Great idea.

Ric Grupe

I think they wanted to see your papers, Joel!

Excellent in your face shots.

dlplumer

So great. I love these animals lust Great shots, great story. clap

StueveShots

These are simply splendid...I love the wide angle on them.

Ric Grupe

kdog wrote: »

but i'm certain they'd love apples. Great idea.

they like auto glass too if you don't feed them quick enough.

Stash

Excellent shots, love the blue sky! If only the third one was pulled back a bit to get the ears and nose in.

DsrtVW

These are so cool, the wide angle CPL and the clouds. Fantasticclap
I have only had one chance at these guys I had to settle for a 300mm.

kdog

Ric Grupe wrote: »

I think they wanted to see your papers, Joel!

Excellent in your face shots.

Ha! No kidding. I'm glad they didn't call ICE on me. Thanks, Ric.

dlplumer wrote: »

So great. I love these animals lust Great shots, great story. clap

Thanks, Dan. I just love the burros too, as you know. Come up to Kingman sometime and I'll introduce you around.

StueveShots wrote: »

These are simply splendid...I love the wide angle on them.

Thanks so much.

Ric Grupe wrote: »

they like auto glass too if you don't feed them quick enough.

Funny thing is, Ric, as I was getting my camera out, one of them stuck their head right in the passenger side window where my buddy was sitting. So what else to do, he pets it!

Stash wrote: »

Excellent shots, love the blue sky! If only the third one was pulled back a bit to get the ears and nose in.

Thanks, Stash. Yeah I was zoomed all the way out and backed up against the front of my car, so that was the best I could do in that shot.

DsrtVW wrote: »

These are so cool, the wide angle CPL and the clouds. Fantasticclap
I have only had one chance at these guys I had to settle for a 300mm.

Thanks, Chris. You never know with these guys. Sometimes they run away, and other times they run toward you.

Thanks again for all the nice comments. Here are a couple more.





Oh, and here's me trying to explain focal lengths to a couple of jackasses.

anwmn1

These are pretty awesome. Love the wide angle on these.


Looks like you were right at home with these guys.

jwear

Very good set and looks like a fun shoot but if you take the carrots you know you will never see them again :DThat is something that they came right up to you thumb

korandoke

beautiful pictures and nice story

greetings,
Korandoke

Harryb

Marvelous images Joel. Its not often you get to shoot wildlife with a wide angle.

kdog

anwmn1 wrote: »

These are pretty awesome. Love the wide angle on these.


Looks like you were right at home with these guys.

Thanks, Aaron. I certainly was. That's the reason they posed so nicely for me -- professional courtesy!

jwear wrote: »

Very good set and looks like a fun shoot but if you take the carrots you know you will never see them again :DThat is something that they came right up to you thumb

Thanks Jeff, and good to see you! Yep, it really surprised the heck out of me. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when they kept approaching. :uhoh

korandoke wrote: »

beautiful pictures and nice story

greetings,
Korandoke

Thanks so much Korandoke.

Harryb wrote: »

Marvelous images Joel. Its not often you get to shoot wildlife with a wide angle.

Thanks Harry. I reckon you're right!

Roaddog 52

Really great images with a totally unexpected point of view. The wide angle really gave those guys a comical look.

Phil

kdog

Roaddog 52 wrote: »

Really great images with a totally unexpected point of view. The wide angle really gave those guys a comical look.

Phil

Thanks, Phil. They're pretty comical beasts anyway, and the wide angle does indeed accentuate that. I'm still going through the pics and finding more that I like.

Subanu

You made these donkeys look cool... Nice!!

kdog

Subanu wrote: »

You made these donkeys look cool... Nice!!

Thanks so much, Subanu.