Horses below the Horns of Paine, Patagonia Workshop ’08

Today we had pretty bad weather in Torres and I think it’s always tempting to put your camera away and write the day off in terms of any photographic potential. But we were coming through the park, heading towards Lago Grey where we were going to photograph the ice bergs in the lake and I saw these horses. The Cuernos (Horns) of Paine were shrouded in rain and low lying cloud but occasionally we would get a hint of them.

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Weather gives drama to an image. It can hold back light in certain areas and bring forth light in others. I love the moody light on the mountains in this shot.

But it’s only part of the story. You need a good composition also. Using a 70-200 lens with 1.4 extender for a focal length of 280mm, I got the composition I was after (I had tried my 400mm lens but it was too much for the scene). The horses were constantly moving across the pampas, so it took a bit of running up and down the road side in order to position them directly below the Horns of Paine.

Three Puma's

Boris, our driver from last year, and also this year, has just told me that three Puma's have been spotted at Laguna Armaga which is on the eastern side of the park. We're headed over there tonight after visiting the face of Glacier Grey, so I wonder if we will be double lucky to see them tomorrow?