April was a great month of photography for me. A trip to south central Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains resulted in a bunch of favorite photos, both of the planned variety and happy accidents.This cow photo is one of the latter. My wife and I drove about the predawn countryside while I looked for something – anything – to silhouette against the rising sun, which was due in just a few minutes. Spotting a few cows in a field, we pulled over. Perhaps I could capture a distant silhouette or two against the dawn sky.
As I wandered up to the electric fence that bordered the field to set up my shot, dozens of cows slowly meandered from every corner of the field and gathered around me. I took several shots of the gathering herd. Then one cow stepped through the huddle and stood to full height, blocking the sun and casting a long shadow in my direction. Perfect.
This shot has been around. It won a competition on Flickr. It was picked up by a Swedish news site to accompany a story on tainted milk. It may well live as desktop wallpaper on who knows how many computers around the world.
Click on picture to enlarge. Photograph © 2006 James Jordan.
love this pic, james. i think it is one of my favorites of all time :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful.
ReplyDeleteI recognize myself in a cow that blocks the sun and cast a long shadow.
Thank you for the help to free myself from the "beauty" of complaints.
I love black and white cows and of course, their photos.
ReplyDeleteI can see why this one would be one of your favorites! The lighting is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome picture!
ReplyDelete