As a nature & wildlife photographer one of my goals is to tell a story with my imagery. In the case of the wild horses of the Crystal Coast one of those tales is about the environment they live in and what a struggle their lives can be. I love close-up portraits of the horses but when I do those intimate photos, if I don’t tell you it’s a wild horse you, the viewer, really doesn’t have anything to show that it isn’t a farm animal. In the case of the images below the viewer gets a clear view of the where the horses live. Purposely I tried to make the horse look small in a big, wide open and wild place. The animals in these series, mustangs living wild and free on Shackleford Banks, have occupied this island for almost 500 years. It’s a hard life where food sources have minimal nutritional value, there is nothing but small scrub brushes and cedars to provide shelter and limited freshwater sources. So, without further explanation, I’ll let this set of photos tell their story.