Weekly Photo Challenge: Four-legged Friends

I just returned from a week of photographing wild* horses in Missouri Ozarks – yes, there are! – so as I was standing in a field for four hours yesterday I decided that this week the theme is to:

Photograph Four-legged Friends

It doesn’t matter if you’re photographing domestically or in the wild.

Four or five times a year I make the journey to the Ozarks, but you don’t have to travel for this week’s challenge. Walk out your front door and take a look. Squirrels are running around my back yard right now gathering up walnuts for the winter.

This week’s challenge is perfect if you’ve been meaning to get that portrait of your favorite four-legged friend – and it’s time to create those holiday cards anyway! Dogs will love the attention. Cats and wild horses are a little less inclined to cooperate, but maybe snap a candid when they’re not looking.

Portrait of wild horse in Missouri Ozarks

If you don’t have pets of your own I’m sure a neighbor’s dog (or hamster or lizard) would pose for a portrait or two.

Or this could be the perfect week to get out to a local zoo and meet a new four-legged friend.

Visited the St. Louis Zoo on a very cold and snowy day – the polar bear didn’t care!

Photograph animals on their own or interacting with humans. My friends and I had a bit of a close encounter with this very curious wild horse. Allen doesn’t look too thrilled at the attention (Allen’s the photographer, not the horse!) We don’t encourage the horses, but sometimes one gets curious!

Photographer shies away from wild horse – he’s a little too close for comfort!

Look for opportunities to photograph your four-legged friends going about their everyday life – in the case of the wild horses it’s eating their way through a field of grass – they do this for many hours a day! The squirrel out my window right now is doing the same – nibbling walnuts, not grass. At least the field is picturesque especially on foggy mornings.

Wild horses in a field on a foggy morning in the Missouri Ozarks.

Or try to catch your four-legged friend in action. Be a wildlife photographer this week – get into position and wait – and wait – and wait. Those wildlife photographers have patience! To capture this next photo of the wild horses I spent two hours working my way close to the horses and they played for two minutes – maybe.

Action shot of wild horses having a fight – or playing – it’s hard to tell.

 

Anything that has four legs is a perfect subject for this challenge. Go exotic or domestic, it’s up to you. Though you may want to steer clear of those four-legged critters that would more likely eat you than be your friend!

 

Alligator in Louisiana swamp – probably NOT a four-legged friend.

I run tours down to the Missouri Ozarks about twice a year to photograph wild horses. Contact me know if you’re interested.

Share your posts in the Comments below or share with the tag #photoyogafourleggedfriends

* Technically, the horses in the Ozarks are feral horses.

I’m using my Random Inspiration Generator to choose the challenge each week. Use it if you want more frequent inspirations!

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This post is sponsored by PhotoYoga.

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