Amarga managed to turn her head on its side. It is amazing how much they can change in two seconds.
At least when you take a photograph with a single lens reflex camera,
you usually get what you are aiming at.
Now that we finally broke down and bought a digital camera,
we have discovered that unusable photos are getting quite common.
Our digital camera also has a digital viewfinder
which takes a little time to refresh as the scene changes.
Once the image is exactly what you want and you press the shutter button
there is about a two second delay before the photo is actually taken.
This gives the llama ample time to do something unexpected,
such as walk out of the picture, turn its head, or flick its ears.
Amarga managed to turn her head on its side. It is amazing how much they can change in two seconds.
I was determined to get a nice photo of Chinchero.
He managed to to flick an ear.
Then he managed to exit the frame on either side of the photo.
By now I had learned to pan the camera with him as he moved.
This sometimes works except when the shutter goes off
just as he passes a fence post.
After my lack of success in getting a photo of Chinchero,
I decided to go back and try getting some photos of some of the girls.
Wedding Belle, on the left, managed to flip her head back.
Autumn Wind in the centre, managed to duck her head completely out of the shot,
while Tanisha was able to flick her ears towards me and elegantly twist her head.
When llamas are chewing hay,
their lower jaws move back and forth a surprising amount.
However, Cotton’s jaw was in the normal position when I pressed the shutter.
I have to admit that this does make an interesting portrait though.
To learn how to take great photos like these
with a regular camera, check out our
Llama Photography Lesson page.
