As I mentioned in my last post I had a bit of trouble locating horses on the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve last week. I had a bit more success yesterday morning. I found a small group consisting of one stallion and three mares out on the shoals. They even entertained me by crossing from one shoal to another while I was wathcing and photographing! I found a larger group on Carrot Island not far from the boardwalk/observation deck, across from the Lenoxville boat ramp. This group was staying up in the shade of the cedar trees and digging holes down to a fresh water source. I suspect that with the recent heat and humidity a lot of the horses are staying in shade and close to drinkable water. You wouldn’t think something as large as a horse would be difficult to find, but honestly if one hadn’t whinnied while I was in ear-shot I think I might have walked right past them! It makes me wonder if I’d missed some the other morning.

I exchanged a couple of emails about their behavior with Jared Lloydd, a professional wildlife photographer and biologist that’s spent a lot of time photographing and observing Banker Horses. (See the links area for a link to his excellent website and for information on his horse photography workshops). Jared mentioned that the Shackleford Horses also dig for water when conditions dry up fresh water pools on the island. He noted, however, that the Banker Horses up by Corova have no need to do so as it’s a much wider island and tends to hold large pools of fresh water. Also, even if the pools were to dry up he mentioned the Currituck Sound has a low salinity level and the horses could drink from that if needed.

It was good to spot the horses and to get a chance to photograph them some more. When photographing the shoals group I was in my kayak, hand-holding a 500mm lens. That can be a bit of a challenge due to the rocking nature of being in a boat. A faster shutter speed is required to keep from blurring the images. In order to keep the shutter speed up, a higher “film speed” or iso is required (light sensitivity setting) which can result in a bit of “digital noise” in the image. When on the island I’m using a tripod with a gimbal mount to insure everything stays nice and steady. This allows the use of slower shutter speeds and also a “slower” iso setting. Simply put when using the tripod you have more workable options available, giving you greater artistic control over the resulting photos. Shooting form the boat you often have to make some compromises and settle for fewer optsion to insure a usuable image. However you gain the advantage of often being able to approach closere without alarming your subjects using the boat. Below are a few photos from the morning’s session.

I rolled out of bed early this morning with a solid plan for some nature photography on Carrot Island. I’d launch the boat at Fisherman’s Park, Front and Gordon Streets in Beaufort, and make the forty-five second paddle across the creek to beach my kayak. I’d then go on foot to photograph some of the island’s feral horses. Whether your shooting an event, portraits or making like a nature photojournalist, it’s always best to have a working plan for your shoot. However, you also need to be willing to shift gears and abandon the plan if circumstances dictate. It’s extremely easy to get locked into a plan and miss other opportunities. As fate would have it, this morning was one of those days where the game plan fell through. Carrot Island is usually the perfect location to be to photograph some horse but this time they were nowhere to be found. Apparently they were all on one of the other sections of the reserve.

Very early into my hike I spotted a pretty little red fox out playing on the dunes. It’s not unusual for me to see foxes on this island, but usually as they slink off into cover trying to avoid me. This little guy was totally unawre I was there! Now foxes are one of my favorite wild animals. I’ve always been fascinated by them. Any time I see one I consider it a good day in nature. If I get to photograph it… well, that’s just about a perfect day! As the moring progressed it became painfully clear that I just wasn’t going to get any horse photos. But I didn’t let that spoil my day. I already had some fox shots “in the can,” and there’s always plenty of photographic possibilities to be found on the island. I shot wildflowers, birds and even landscape while exploring the island in search of wild horses.

Mention the term “wild horses” and most people will think of Mustangs, cowboys and the Old West. But there is an even older herd living on North Carolina’s barrier islands. To be honest, calling them “wild horses” isn’t exactly accurate. Both the Banker Horses and their western cousins are actually feral animals… descendents of once domestic livestock. While the horses of Corolla, Oakracoke and Shackleford Banks have been in place for a few hundred years, the herd living in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve have only been on those islands since the 1940s. Some “locals” suggest that the animals swam over from Shackleford, thier origin can most likely be attributed to a doctor that kept a few horses on Carrot Island in 40′s. Upon his death the horses were left to fend for themselves.

While I usually use my kayak to explore along the shoreline of the islands locate within the reserve, this morning I beached the boat and went for a hike in search of the horses. I put in at Fisherman’s Park, Front St. and Gordon St. and paddled east to the cut-through that splits the island in two. After beaching my kayak I walked in until I found one of the obvious horse paths, then followed that west until I found several of the animals. I found about a dozen of the horses in one area and greatly enjoyed watching and photographing them.