Roaming the Great Plain

On the Great Plains of eastern Hungary, semi-wild cattle roam free throughout the summer months. The Hungarian Grey cattle, which are indigenous to the region, are considered a symbol of the nation.

Reuters photographer Laszlo Balogh took this striking image of the cows standing in the grasslands at dawn while shooting a story on traditional farming on the steppe.

25 Sep 2014. Hortobagy, Hungary. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh

"The cattle seemed just as interested in me ... as I was in them"
Laszlo Balogh , Reuters Photographer

I was working on a story about Janos Bana, a herdsman who works 48-hour shifts on the Great Plains of eastern Hungary, where he looks after 362 semi wild Hungarian Grey cattle by himself. The breed are indigenous to the country, and are considered a national symbol of Hungary.

The herdsman is doing the same work his ancestors have done for hundreds of years and represents a rare profession that is disappearing in the modern world.

To shoot the story I had to drive 10 kilometres to the village of Hortobagy in the Great Plains of eastern Hungary, which to me, felt like the middle of nowhere.

What is wonderful about the Great Plains is that it’s entirely free of light pollution. I used a small tripod and a torch to light up the grey cattle which were about two meters from me. This picture was taken at around 7 a.m. It took me 5 frames to get this particular photo right, trying different apertures, and a 32 second exposure. What really amused me is that the cattle seemed just as interested in me, and what I was doing, as I was in them.