More pronghorn - C&C appreciated

[picsfrommt]

Can't let Chuck have all the fun with antelope south of Yellowstone Park so I'm posting some pronghorn on the northern border of Yellowstone. (By the way Chuck, nice shots.)

A few weekends ago I rented a big lens (150-500mm) and headed down to Yellowstone Park hoping for big horn sheep. The closest sheep I saw were a kilometer or two away. So after having my hopes dashed I ran into this herd of pronghorn.

This shot was taken at 400mm on a 1.6x cropped sensor with an exposure of 1/1000 sec. @ f/6.3. It was late in the day and the sun was nearly behind them. I like it, but not 100% satisfied. Something's wrong with the composition.


IMG_2027 - Version 5 by picsfrommt, on Flickr


Here's the edited version of that picture that I've cropped a bit:


Hey, what's over there? by picsfrommt, on Flickr

I think the second version is better, but if anyone has some suggestions I'd love to hear them. Should I move the crop to leave more space on the right? Or...


If you'd like to critique this last image, go ahead. But I'm not posting it so much for critique, but rather as a question for any pronghorn experts out there. I can't figure out what this guy has on the side of his face and shoulder. At first I thought it was blood, but the texture and color just aren't right. It was taken November 2nd if that helps.


IMG_2063 - Version 2 by picsfrommt, on Flickr

[chauncey]

A "out of left field" guess, assuming your colors and my monitor are correct...it would appear that he recently visited a berry patch.