Month / August 2018

by Equus ferus Wild Horse Photography

Corona and just a little smoke…

Today we had the privilege of seeing Corona and his band. He had lost some of his mares last year, but it was heartening to see some of his mares with him today.

We saw smoke over the ridge on the southwest border of The Basin. We reported it, and was reassured it was being handled by local fire crews. By the time we got to the camper- and gathered our important belonging together (wallets, medication, passports and camera equipment) – the blaze was controlled. We were later told the fire was approximately 12 acres, but not in Sand Wash Basin.

Tomorrow we pack up and head to Utah for the wild horses at Great Desert Basin. A very different environment, but we will miss our friends at Sand Wash -bipedal and quadrupedal. We also saw several horned lizards and a Gopher Snake. All in all, a wonderful Meet & Shoot, tons of mustangs, good friends, Picasso and Corona.

-Ben, Meredith & Karen

by Equus ferus Wild Horse Photography

On the way to Sand Wash Basin

We left New York four hours late but managed to make it to Denver by 12:30 am and Karen met us at the airport. Rather than risk the five hour trip to Sand Wash Basin in the dark, we decided to spend the night in Silverthorne, CO. We woke early (too early!) and grabbed breakfast. We were treated an morning rainbow; I’ll consider it an auspicious start to the Mustang Walkabout 2018. We are on our way listening to the score of ‘Hamilton’!

-Meredith, Ben & Karen

by Equus ferus Wild Horse Photography

Meet & Shoot August 6, 2021

THE MUSTANG WALKABOUT 
FREE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

An Introduction to the Mustangs of Sand Wash Basin
Each year we (Meredith & Karen) spend one day of our Annual Mustang Walkabout taking a group of wild horse enthusiasts all over Sand Wash Basin in search of wild horses. We spend an entire day driving all over the Basin looking for mustangs. If you want, we will help you set up your shots, choose the best lighting, teach you how to use your camera, and we provide information on horse behaviour, management on the range, genetics of coat color, and any other topics that might arise. We have spent the past thirteen summers living with wild horses on the range. Cindy from the Wild Horse Warriors of Sand Wash Basin comes along and she knows every hiding place, and where to best locate horses.  

This is a FREE event, but space is limited!

What do I need to attend?

Please remember- you don’t need everything on this list
Please message us and we will guide you through selecting the best camera & supplies…

Camera: I bring a Canon 7D Mark ii and a backup Canon Rebel T3ii. The lenses fit both. I usually have them professionally cleaned over the winter, so they are ready for the spring, summer, and autumn photography trips. A professional camera is not necessary- people often use a simple point and shoot or even a cell phone camera.
 
Lenses: I use a 100-400mm image stabilised Canon lens most of the time. The Rebel has an 18-135 mm for panoramic vistas. I carry both in the field to make sure my lenses overlap. I also have an 18-55 mm, but that won’t cover the area from 55-100 mm, so I bring the 18-135 mm. This way I have a full range of lens choice that overlap. A lot of camera stores sell refurbished used lenses, and this is a great way to get a lens for a reduced price.  You must have a lens with a minimum distance of 300 mm because you cannot approach the horses closer than 100 feet in most management areas, so a long lens is crucial.
 
Memory Cards: I buy new cards every year. The most important thing is the speed and the size. Get a size that you won’t have to swap cards out frequently, but make sure to have extras. I find the highest speeds to be the best for mustang photography. For the SD Cards, go for the minimum of  90-95 MB/sec read/write and Class 3. Compact Flash Cards come in 120mb/s for the high-speed setting. You want to be able to use the camera’s rapid-fire capability, so you’ll want the card to match the speed of the camera. I also recommend many smaller sized cards versus one huge card. I usually carry 64MB, 32MB and few 16MB.
 
If something spectacular happens (and it often does), those photos may turn out to be some of your best work, take the card out of the camera and put it in a safe place when the action is over. The precious photos will be safe, and you won’t have to deal with a card failure (rare, but it happens). I kept my first photos of Picasso on a CF Card and carried all the way home after backing it up multiple times.  Another trick- I keep empty cards in my right pocket, and used cards in my left. They are numbered 1,2,3 etc. and this way I instantly know what cards are used and which are empty.
 
Batteries: I carry four. Two are in the battery-grip for the camera all the time, and so far, I haven’t had to replace the double battery even after 12 hours of shooting. But I always carry four freshly charged batteries in the field. The backup camera has a single battery, and I carry a spare. We charge them using car charger adaptors, or we also use a PowerVerter or Power Inverter which offers plugs and uses the car lighter for the power source. We charge batteries while we drive to save time.
 
Monopod/Tripod: There are wonderful to stabilise your camera. At places like the waterhole, there is a lot of action going on all the time. Karen usually has one leg of her tripod extended, and she will drop the other two if it looks like we will be stationary for a while. I usually carry the tripod with all three legs extended.
 
External Hard Drives: I carry a 2TB hard drive, and I upload every night. I don’t even look at the photos until they are backed-up on two external hard drives and then, sparingly. Once I am home, they get backed up via the Cloud, and the hard drive goes into the safe. Only then do I go through all the photos.
 
Computer/ Laptop: I bring my MacBook into the field. It is very light and has a nice sized screen. I opted for the Macbook over the MacBook-Air because the Macbook run Photoshop- always useful to have to examine photos if necessary or after they are backed-up.

Binoculars: As an avid bird watcher, I have a good sturdy pair. You’ll need them for the bands in the distance.  I have a simple pair of 8×42 Bushnell

Sundries:
  • Sunscreen- tons of the stuff
  • Cooling evaporative towel (Frog Tog)
  • Lens cleaning kits
  • Storm covers- some of the best photos are just before a storm, but protect your camera at all times.
  • Food/water/cell phone with a car charger
  • Snacks- jerky, chips, fruit…
  • Snakebite kit, yes there are snakes out on the range. So far, no one has been bitten, just watch where you put your feet at all times. The Prairie Rattlesnake is generally docile, but even the shyest snake will bite if it is stepped on. Some people wear snake-gaiters, and I carry a pair. We carry a snake hook which allows us to move a snake off the road or away from habitation safely for both snake and snake wrangler. Please remember, my husband is a herpetologist, and I have a lot of experience handling snakes (so don’t try this at home).
*Always let some know where you are, how long you plan to be there, and when you expect to return.
 

We do have an emergency medically trained guide in the unlikely event of any injuries
Sponsored by: Equus ferus Wild Horse Photography & Karen McLain Studio