Due to my busy schedule while student teaching this semester, I haven’t been able to go out shooting in a while. Fortunately, I have plenty of older photographs to share, such as this one of a wild pony stallion.

One of my favorite locations to photograph is Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. I made my first visit there in January 2006, before I began seriously focusing on nature photography, but have since visited twice each year, making return visits in November 2006, May 2007, and November 2007. Chincoteague has a wide array of birds and wildlife including herons, egrets, shorebirds, gulls, and a variety of mammal species, many of which allow for a pretty close approach making it very productive for photography. One of the highlights of Chincoteague are its wild ponies, made famous by the 1947 book Misty of Chincoteague. I have loved horses ever since I was a young girl and read the Misty story as a child, so photographing the wild ponies of Chincoteague has always been a dream for me and is often an important focus of my visits to the refuge.

This photograph was made during my week long May 2007 visit to the refuge. I had noticed that each evening, as the sun sank low in the sky, a herd or two of the wild ponies would make its way out into the open area of marshy fields along the main drive of the refuge leading to the beach, so I would keep an eye out for them each day. One evening, two separate bands of ponies came close as the light grew dim. Myself and several other photographers congregated along the roadside, photographing the ponies despite the low light. I was particularly attracted to a buckskin stallion, grazing solo in the field, because I loved his buttery dun color, which reflects the primitive colors of the ancestors of domestic and modern horses. When he lifted his head up and turned it towards me, making eye contact, I clicked the shutter and ended up with this photo as the final result.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 2x Mark II Extender.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.