If I was an Austrian cow I think I would go a little bit crazy. Sure, you have a nice view and a bit of grass – life is pretty good. However, you also have to wear a bell around your neck and these things are pretty loud and annoying when you are stood right next to them, let alone when you need to carry them 24-7.
Walk a bit – ring ding ding.
Chew a bit of grass – ring ding ding.
Turn my head – ring ding ding.
Sit perfectly still – is that silence? Nope, there’s the ring ding ding of Magdalena’s bell – forgot I was in a herd.
A herd of such cows in one particular field looked a little docile, so I got as close as I could to them and let natural curiosity take over. The cows came closer and closer to me, so in the end I was laying on the floor trying to get a decent angle while one cow sniffed at my lens and licked my boots.
A second cow attempted to sneak up on me. Everytime I looked away from it the large bovine would take a few steps towards me, and then comically stop every time I looked back at it. Here’s a clue Florian – you can’t sneak up on a dude when you’re wearing a bell!
Also not sure why I’m giving names to them.
This image was tonemapped from one exposure due to the fact cows like to mooove move a lot and the other brackets would never have lined up with this one. Personally I really like the drop of saliva you can see, just about ready to drop over my lens and boots.
ETA
Here are a few images take by John while I was grabbing this shot.
Here’s me taking the above shot:
Here’s the one cow licking my boots, and the other (Florian) attempting to sneak up on me.
Finally, here is the cow getting curious about the camera.
Outstanding in your field, Murph.
Snigger.
Oh yes, very good.
This is great! Love the first image and agree that the saliva adds a really nice touch to already cool image! The behind the scenes images are really cool, too, confirming your interactions with the curious animals! Great post!
Jim Denham recently posted..Austin – From The Hip
Thanks Jim…I’ve enjoyed getting a little closer to animals during my Austria and Iceland trips; it’s great to shoot a new and moving subject
now that’s in your face, cow-wise!
Great shot that immediately brought a smile to our faces!
Thanks very much, I was giggling away while taking the shot, especially when the cows came in for a real close look.