Photo Shoot At Lone Star Farm


         People often ask me, "How do you get those sheep to pose for all those pictures?"  If I am taking
       a picture for a registration certificate, this is the ritual that Mike and I go through.  We catch up
       whatever group of sheep we are going to photograph that day.  Trust me on this, there will only be
       enough patience for one group!  I get my green bucket and my camera and I go sit out in the hot
       sun in the paddock adjacent to the stall where the sheep are penned.  We have to do this in the
       heat of the day so there won't be shadows cast on the sheep.  I have my camera turned on and
       have it focused on the stall door the sheep will be coming through, so I will be ready for a surprise
       shot (surprise shots look very alert).  As the sheep comes through the door and sees me sitting on
       a green bucket with a camera in my face, they are generally startled.  This first try usually doesn't
       work, because Mike is in the background of the picture all hot and sweaty from catching the sheep
       in the first place.  Then, sometimes the sheep is so surprised to see me sitting there that it runs
       back into the stall, only to hear Mike say something under his breath like, "I don't know what you are
       running from, that's what I wake up to every morning".  Of course, I always get the shot of the sheep
       that comes out and turns away from me to stare at the door it just came through as though it had hit
       it from behind. 

                                                                                    
       "Okay, Mike, your assistance is required.  Move
       that sheep around the paddock and make it look
       alert so I can get this picture", as Mike mumbles
       something like, "Yeah, right."  Mike then begins
       to move the sheep around the paddock getting
       hotter  and hotter from his efforts, under the collar
       that is.   We usually get a few more shots that are
       not worthy of a position on a registration certificate
       or the website, or anything else for that matter.
       Like when one grabs a mouthful of hay on its way
       past the feeder.  Always fodder for a great shot
       as seen below.  Or occasionally I get the
       raspberries as seen in the photo to the right of the
       fodder photo from a sheep not in the mood to pose.
       Look closely at the ram in the background.  Oh my
       gosh, is he laughing?!!!


                
                                                                                                        
       Generally, it will take enough shots of each sheep to fray anyone's nerves and make a person want
       to stick out their tongue, put their thumbs in their ears and wiggle their fingers at the sheep, right
       before giving up and going into the house.  Then I tell myself not to take it so personally, be mature
       about this, and then holler "Mike, I'm ready for the next one."

          "Okay, one down", I say to myself, as I finally get a
          decent shot (see photo at left), only to realize that the
          subject in question is high in the rear this week, and I
          can't see her feet because we need to clean out the
          paddock, all of which was never noticed until after
          the sheep were turned out and the not-so-perfect
          photos had been downloaded to my computer.
          Nice try, though.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
          Maybe we'll photograph lambs instead, surely they
          will be easier.  Shame on me for saying that out loud!
                                                                      
                                                                        



             

          In case you are wondering why I would use such
          a poorly posed  photo of Lone Star Rambunctious  
          on his registration certificate and then later on the
          website, please follow the progression of his
          photo shoot.