After another a quick trip around the West, I had to swing by Sand Wash Basin on the return to home base. Heavy rains had fallen when I last attempted to visit, and I narrowly escaped without getting properly stuck in the unbelievably slick/deep/thick mud.
On this occasion, I was treated to a rare circumstance for me at least. The afternoon light was glorious, but not overpowering. The sky was surprisingly dark, the foreground was bright and the background was a mix of long shadows and golden-hour tones. The air was cool and calm. It felt like I was on the set of a movie in Hollywood. The only remaining ingredient was for the horses to help frame the moment.
I spotted one of my favorite groups, and I knew that the light wouldn't last long -- so I hopped out and walked out into the sage for, hopefully, a better vantage point.
The small band of horses was in a very mellow mood. I could see that they were drifting west, so I planted myself even further west so that I could try and photograph them with the light/background lining up for the best possible outcome.
The group noticed me, but was indifferent to my distant presence. I've photo'd them many times before, and I always wonder if they're able to recognize the same people even if they only appear several times a year.
I'm always watching for which horse(s) display a certain kind of inquisitive body language. Today it would be a mostly white colored horse. He's a bit of an outsider to this herd that is dominated by two protective males.
The brown freckles and subtle marks on this white mustang make him easy to remember. I could see him, more than any other horse, looking my direction regularly. He would glance then graze. At first he slowly drifted my way, but soon he just decided to come right over to me. After a brief moment checking me out at close range, he drifted back towards the larger group. An instant later, the light was gone for the day.
The action isn't dramatic and the scene is fairly simple, but it's hard to top such perfect conditions. This group wasn't just my first of the trip, but they'd also turn out to be the very last two days later. The same white mustang would put on a much more dramatic show in the post called "Airborne" on the 25th. Always a pleasure to be out with them.
