Black Hills Bighorn Sheep (Rams), 2003

October, 2003 (The Black Hills, South Dakota) -- Bighorn Sheep rams are like a traveling poker game or an exclusive men's club. They just sort of hang out together and do manly things, like eat, until that time of year rolls around. Then it's time to TCB. (That's 'take care of business' for you folks in Waco.) It was pretty warm in the mountains during the first week of October, when these images were captured, so the clubhouse patter was still pretty laid back, but you could tell party gras was just around the corner!

Techie Notes: Because of the distance involved and the ram club's tendency to remain exclusive, it's definitely a situation for the Nikon D1H and some big glass, in my case an AF VR-Nikkor 80-400 1:4.5-5.6D. These are pretty shy guys, so you've got to take your time, move slow, and leave your yellow t-shirt back at the lodge. Rams watch for danger from above, so if you stay below their level, your photographic opportunities are better.

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