jantrabuephotography.com

The Outerbanks in North Carolina is one of my all time favorite places to photograph. It is truly a photographers dream! There is so much to do and photograph there, you really cant see and capture it all in one visit. I have been able to photograph the wild horses in the past years by doing one of those guided tours where they take you on the beach and in the dunes to find them. This always was so much fun but we’d only usually see less than 10 at best. This year, I got smart and rented a 4 wheel drive so I could drive myself on the beach and have daily access to them, increasing my chances of seeing more of them. My biggest hope was to find some in the water. Well, not only did I get shots of them in the water I got shots of them doing battle!! I got shots of a stampede too! It as more than I even hoped for! Im almost tempted not to go back because I dont think any subsequent experience can top the one I had this year!! Altogether the 4 days we were there, I counted over 40 different horses. It was an amazing time! I can’t even begin to describe how magical it was. They paraded down the beach along the water’s edge, they splashed in the water, they ran full throttle, they sparred, they kicked, they snorted, and it was so exciting! They were all so beautiful! I spent many hours though driving up and down the beach, climbing the dunes, and walking beside the ocean to be a witness to all this action. Good photography is half being in the right place at the right time, which means spending a lot of time hanging out. Good photography also requires having equipment that works!! During the stampede the auto focus went out on my 80-400mm lens and I had to manual focus. In the bright sunshine. From a long distance away. So many potentially great shots didnt turn out so great, as Im not very good really with manual focus. I brought out my monster lens- 500mm prime- and this put me too up close and personal for good action shots. When it was all said and done though, I had some pretty decent shots I was proud of. I hope you enjoy them too!