Rutland the Goat

I don’t know anything about the parentage or breeding or background for this little goat.

He was in a pen at the Vermont State Fair, along with a few other baby goats.

He probably had no idea that he was being photographed.  I don’t think that goats have a concept of what a camera is.

Doesn’t matter to me.  Smile, little goat.  You’re going to be a star.

Last month, when I was at the Vermont State Fair on picture pick-up day,  I killed some time by photographing some of the animals in the barns and pens.  That’s one of the main things I enjoy about participating in competitions at county and state fairs – it allows me an opportunity to photograph light trails on Ferris wheels, animals in pens, and anything else that happens to capture my attention.

And this little goat was in his pen, as he chomped on hay, paying very little attention to me.  But he certainly caught my attention.

Okay… let’s see what I can get in terms of photos.

I snapped a few shots of the little kid, and after a while – between the goat munching on some hay and then him looking up at me – I got the picture I wanted.

And you can see it on the right.

Okay, now he needs a name.  He’s got a nice patch of furry black hair on his face, almost like a little cowlick.  And those are ice-blue eyes…

I went through about fifteen different names – I could have named him in honor of someone, I could have named him to insult someone.  But I don’t work that way.  Believe me, I’ve got better things to do with my life than to passive-aggressively taunt someone by using their name as a title for my artworks.

Eventually I decided on a cute name for the goat – Rutland, named after the town where he was photographed.  At least I think it’s a “he.”  I didn’t check that closely to determine one way or the other.

There’s something about this picture – a bit of whimsy, a bit of humor, almost a cheekiness to the goat’s gaze.

So here’s the deal.

Remember a couple of years ago, when I entered The Jumbuck in the Altamont Fair’s “Sheep Photo” category?  And then that picture went on to win three blue ribbons in competition that year?

Well, I wasn’t planning on entering any more sheep photos in competition.

But did you know that the Altamont Fair also has a category for goat photos as part of their categories for live goat judging?

So next year, when I’m dropping off my four entries for Altamont’s regular photography competition…

I’ll make up a fifth picture – and bring little Rutland to the photo-goat-ography section.

So if you see my four pictures at Altamont next year…

Swing over to the goat barn and you might get a glimpse of Rutland the goat.