Spring Lamb at Eastertime., a photo from South Lanarkshire, Scotland

Photographer's Note

In Scotland, this is one of the busiest times of year for sheep farmers and shepherds as we are now in the middle of the "lambing season". In lowland areas where the temperatures are warmer and the grass more verdant, lambing can start as early as late February but in higher areas where it is colder and the pastures of poorer quality, lambing might start as late as the beginning of April and continue until mid-May.

There is, of course, an incentive for farmers to arrange for their ewes to deliver their lambs as early as feasibly possible so that their lambs can be fattened quickly and so arrive at market whilst the prices are high. Prices for lambs decrease later in the year as supply becomes more plentiful.

A fine balance, therefore, has to be struck regarding timing of mating of the ewes with the rams - too late and poor prices will be had for the resulting lambs: too early and newborn lambs and their mothers will not have sufficient food to survive or will perish in the cold weather.

This picture was taken just a few hundred yards from my last one.

I've added another similar picture as a Workshop.

A Happy Easter to All!

COSTANTINO, maloutim, delpeoples, bayno, RhodieIke, jjcordier, jester5, jhm, annjackman, nikkitta, SnapRJW has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (57704) 2012-04-07 8:52

Hi John,how is tender this pic and how is great this idea for the Easter greetings! Magnificent capture whit a special 3D effect and great details and colors despite the difficult light of a cloudy day.Happy Easter to you too and thanks for share,Luciano

agjika (4015) 2012-04-07 9:41

Hi John,
Very elegant and joyful. A fabulous spring photo. Lovely and sharp with great dof.

Regards

Aleks

maloutim (8616) 2012-04-07 14:00

Hi John,
I love this kind of picture with farm animals and their young ! Lovely capture of this ewe and its lamb ! She looks so serious and responsible and the little one so playful and happy !

Your note is very well-written and interesting, except the fate of the lambs doesn't fit with the happy-go-lucky attitude :-(( Oh well, I suppose that's life ! Thanks for sharing.
Marie-Louise.

delpeoples (45006) 2012-04-07 18:53

Caro Giovanni

Happy Easter to you and yours. You celebrate with a very sweet photo that has been voted numero uno by my 7 year old god daughter. Love the colours and the extraordinary sharpness. A beautiful photo of mother and daughter with a superb tight framing.

Hope the Easter Bunny was good to you
Lisa

bayno (16213) 2012-04-07 21:08

Ciao John,
I do not know what to think of this photo, I do not know if you're a vegetarian, I am not, the picture is very tender and make me some sense of guilt, in Italy we traditionally eat lamb at Easter ;), the picture quality is impeccable and with wonderful colors, I wish you a happy Easter to you and your Dear...
Valter

emka (58194) 2012-04-07 23:18

Hi John,

Both photos are so sweet but I prefer the Workshop. Wonderful lambs. And such an appropriate photo for Easter. Very nice shot. The sheep here are not the most popular in Scotland with the black head.
Fabulous tender photo.
Have a nice Easter, and do not eat too much!

Malgo

RhodieIke (9207) 2012-04-08 0:06

Hi John, Hope you are not having Roast Lamb, for your Easter Sunday dinner. Splendid two photos of these sheep and lamb scene, I like Malgo, prefer your WS,like how they are both looking at you. Well managed on both, have a great Easter Sunday, Cheers Iain.

jjcordier (62366) 2012-04-08 0:35

John
Le voilà le fameux agneau pascal! Une photo toute en tendresse de cet agneau et sa mère dont la laine touffue va certainement faire le bonheur de l'éleveur!
Amicalement
JJ

Silvio1953 (98217) 2012-04-08 1:26

Ciao John, lovely family composition with cute lamb, beautiful natural colors, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, have a good Easter, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (17791) 2012-04-08 2:17

Hello John,

I find this one a tough one to critique. I like the narrow dof which reveals the wonderful textures of the wool and the fine details of the ewe's face and the implied movement of the lamb but I'm not too keen on the ewe having her back legs removed. For me, it makes the whole seem incomplete.
I love the composition of your w/s but the vitality of the original is missing.

Dam, they're still worth deux points.

Have a good Easter Sunday,
Bev :-)

jhm (122474) 2012-04-08 3:12

Hello John,

I look to your workshop picture with the another Mother and offspring, I find these the most beautiful of the two, this is my personal opinion.
These picture suits perfect to the time of the year, Easter.
Sharpness and clarity are perfect.
Excellent composition, nice done, TFS.

Have a nice Easterday,
John.

annjackman (13227) 2012-04-08 10:54

Hi John,
Ahhh - I love this little lamb with its pink ears next to its very woolly mother. First class quality image with good use of a shallow DOF so that the BG doesn't interfere. Glad I didn't have lamb for lunch!
Best wishes, Ann

mesutilgim (68014) 2012-04-08 15:14

Hello John,
Perfect capture related to this very special day.
Perfect compo.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

nikkitta (5896) 2012-04-10 16:11

Hola John

How very funny in Argentina all you write in the informative note happens in October

Charming capture, but in a way I prefer the one posted in the ws
Happy Easter to you
Maria

Note, I love roasted lamb, it this politically correct?

holmertz (26980) 2012-04-12 11:59

Hello John,
It makes me feel a bit guilty, but seeing this I can't help myself thinking of garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and other goodies. Please forgive me. It's a fine and cute picture anyway.
Kind regards,
Gert

SnapRJW (18784) 2012-04-13 8:09

Hello John - I'm back from a trip and catching up on recent posts. What a good choice for the Easter season, the little woolly lamb looks so wobbly on it's legs and yet in a few days will be totally independant of mum. She looks like sooner will be better than later! Lovely shot. so crisp and cleasn. Warm regards Rosemary

karacabeylis (1287) 2012-04-16 9:49

a nice shot indeed

Photo Information

Copyright: John Cannon (tyro) (13111)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2012-04-05
Categories: Food, Nature
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, HOYA 67mm HMC SUPER UV(0)
Exposure: f/4, 1/640 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2012-04-07 8:49