You read that title right! I stumbled on a picture I took yesterday of a winking Rocky Mountain Goat. Both eyes, as the second picture shows, are perfectly good eyes. This goat and I shared a moment.

My new best friend, the winking  goat, has two perfectly good eyes. What I captured was in fact a wink! The pic makes my case for pushing the shutter a lot. While some very fine photographers with great eyes take their time, compose their picture, and shoot small numbers of pictures, I do better when I take a LOT of pics and then sort them out. My composition is careful, and “on the fly. ”

Sometimes I’ll have at least a guess that I just captured a good image. Sometimes I won’t know it until I am working with the pics on a computer. Like the winking goat. Until reviewing yesterday’s zoo pics I had no idea that I’d caught the blink moment. Or should I say “I planned it, saw the moment, and pushed the shutter.” Not true! While I certainly set up the opportunity to capture a moment, actually pressing the shutter and capturing the moment, for me, has a degree of luck involved. I control what I can and push the shutter a lot.

Taking pics of moving animals is a real challenge. Some animals are sometimes cooperative, holding great poses while I calmly set up the shot and push the button. Sometimes many of the animals are  asleep, which generally does not make for interesting pictures. I should be showing up at the zoo early, instead of during the heat of the afternoon sun. While I might be wandering around in danger of heat stroke, the animals, generally smarter than I am, are either taking a nap, or are out of sight, somewhere inside of or in the shade of their enclosure. Not only do I have to pay attention to the animal, in zoos I have to be especially aware of the background. I don’t want fences and the like being significant visual elements. I want them either out of the picture or visually insignificant.

I am looking for a couple of things in my animal pics. In addition to the “normal,” composition etc., I want emotion in the picture. For me that is often capturing the moment when an animal looks at me. I also pay attention to the animal’s behavior. What are they doing? What is their movement rhythm and pattern? I want to anticipate when the animal might be turning towards me. Occasionally I nail it. Mostly I delete it.  If I get three pictures that I really like out of 100 attempts, I call it a good day of shooting!

My best secret, the one that works for me, is to take a lot of pictures. Whether it is a flower or a feline, if I take five pictures I’ll later wish I’d taken at least ten. With these constantly moving targets,  anticipating the shot, and being set up for the shot certainly helps in getting a memorable image.

Notice the huge slabs of heavy think “hair” or “down” coming off this goat as it sheds  (moults) the rest of its winter coat. The importance of goat down as a source of fiber cannot be overstated. While not raised commercially for fiber, generally, its use for spinning yarn is centuries old. Considered an “exotic” fiber, we are all familiar with the “downy softness” of cashmere. Cashmere is made by spinning the down shed by the goats.

The winking goat is currently a guest of the Denver Zoo.

Lenny Lensworth Frieling

Shared Knowledge Is Power!

Leonard Frieling Pen Of Justice

• Multi-published and syndicated blogger and author.
• University lectures at University. of Colorado, Boulder, Denver University Law School, Univ. of New Mexico, Las Vegas NM, and many other schools at all levels. Numerous lectures for the NORML Legal Committee
• Former Judge
• Media work, including episodes of Fox’s Power of Attorney, well in excess of many hundreds media interviews, appearances, articles, and podcasts, including co-hosting Time For Hemp for two years.
• Life Member, NORML Legal Committee, Distinguished Counsel Circle.
• Photographer of the Year, AboutBoulder 2023
• First Chair and Originator of the Colorado Bar Association’s Cannabis Law Committee, a National first.
• Previous Chair, Boulder Criminal Defense Bar (8 years)
• Twice chair Executive Counsel, Colorado Bar Association Criminal Law Section
• Life Member, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar
• Board Member Emeritus, Colorado NORML, and prior chair during legalization, as well as pre and post legalization
• Chair, Colorado NORML, 7 years including during the successful effort to legalize recreational pot in Colorado
• Senior Counsel Emeritus to the Boulder Law firm Dolan + Zimmerman LLP : (720)-610-0951
• Board member, Author, and Editor for Criminal Law Articles for the Colorado Lawyer, primary publication of the Colorado Bar Assoc. 7 Years, in addition to having 2 Colorado Lawyer cover photos, and numerous articles for the Colorado Lawyer monthly publication.
• http://www.Lfrieling.com