Pronghorn Standoff-1

by Gary Holmes

Title

Pronghorn Standoff-1

Artist

Gary Holmes

Medium

Photograph

Description

A yearling pronghorn buck (Antilocapra americana) confronts a potential rival in the Lamar Valley area of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, during early fall. We had stopped on the road to photograph this young buck with a female a few hundred yards away. I set up my tripod, took several shots, and then he started loping almost directly toward me, stopping on a ridge a few feet from the road, and maybe 30 feet away. I then realized he was challenging another young buck that had been out of sight on the other side of the road. I was fully anticipating a fight would ensue, but neither crossed the road, and after about 15 minutes, we all went our separate ways. Adult bucks are easily distinguished by their long, black horns, which extend beyond the tips of the ears, and by the black cheek patch below the ear at the angle of the jaw. Yearling bucks have shorter horns, usually about as long as the ears, but they also have the distinguishing black cheek patch. Females often grow horns, which occasionally grow to the length of the ears,but they lack the black cheek patch. Even among fawns, which usually lack visible horns, the black cheek patches distinguish males from females. (Source: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/hunting-1001090.aspx).
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Gary Holmes, photographer: I have always loved to photograph nature, landscapes, abstract, and other found objects of interest. Although I have staged single and group portraits and still life photographs, I prefer the challenge of trying to capture the unpredictable spontaneity of things and events as they are occurring. I started with a Kodak Brownie as a child, but entered the world of real photography with a Canon AE-1 in the late 1970's. I have continued to develop my compositional and post-processing skills and have slowly acquired higher quality equipment that is now capable of putting those skills to their best use. I finally became confident enough

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November 24th, 2014

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