About All Those Sheep . . .

Early on in our visits to Ireland I became addicted to photographing sheep. I’m fairly certain that my interest in them gained traction one rainy day in Donegal, near Killybegs. I discovered that even on the dreariest of days, sheep make interesting subjects. Plus I really admire the way they never seem to fret about the rain.

Neither do they mind sharing a pasture with others.

And they are so colorful! Spray painting a herd is a branding technique used by farmers whose sheep graze on open land. When it come time to round them up, their ownership can be sorted out by their colors. Some sheep are sprayed with a single color, others with two, and sometimes you’ll see sheep that border on the psychedelic.

After a while I noticed that some sheep really like to pose for the camera. Honestly they do. Granted that most sheep will run off when you approach them.

Some who are munching away on grass, resting or ruminating may not move at all and won’t look into the camera even if you set off a firecracker to get their attention.

However, some sheep REALLY like to pose.

Some, in fact, look positively blissful when they pose.

Some like to look directly into the lens . . .

. . . while others prefer to show off their distinguished profiles.

Many are most comfortable while posing in their natural environment.

Some sheep like to pose all by themselves . . .

. . . while others prefer group portraits.

Every so often, one is so shy that he will do anything to avoid the camera.

Posers usually have a way of making themselves known; just look for the one sheep in the group who pays attention to what you are doing. I find they like to hear you talk to them.

Some will be so happy to have human companionship that they’ll come right to you . . . and bring their friends with them.

It’s evident that I’ve become pretty invested in this sheep thing, and every year I look forward to heading to Ireland in search of posing sheep. Of course I couldn’t have found so many without Jim’s expert driving ability and willingness to sit by the side of the road and read and smoke his pipe while I’m off sheep hunting. From the photo below, I’m not certain whether he’s laughing at me or at the sheep. Either way, I’m grateful for his help.

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