With light snow falling, encountering the coyote was a bit of serendipity as I walked through a grove of trees on the way to a small meadow and stream in Yellowstone NP where I planned to photograph a moose and her calf. There he was concentrating on hearing his next meal. The coyote never looked up and closed his eyes just before he did his jump and dive. And, he was successful. He saw me and turned and trotted off through the trees.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
- Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
- Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I wasn’t sure if I wanted a really blurred background with just the coyote in focus or the mid-range trees more in focus so I tried a comprise. I should have shot this both ways to see which highlighted the coyote better and have an aesthetic choice. I would be interested in critique on the lighting/exposure, as well.
Technical Details
Nikon D200
Nikkor 80-400 f4.5-5.6
330 mm
1/500th of a second @ f7.1
ISO 200
Processed in Light Room
1 Like
Doug,
Thanks for your submission.
This image has a meditative quality to it…is he sleeping…is he resting…or is he hearing his next meal? It leaves me curious.
Wondering if you captured any of the action shots where the coyote pounced? I ask because looking at your settings, you might not have had enough shutter speed to get quick action. I suggest bumping that ISO up and under-exposing to be at much higher baseline shutter speed to account for rapid scene changes.
I think the exposure on this looks fine and like I said above you could create more shutter by adjusting a bit and planning for an action shot.
It is photographers call if you want the background more visible or less visible. In this scene, I might have made that background even more blurry. My little rule of thumb is the closer they are to the background, the more I want it in focus. The farther away from it they are, I want it bokeh because it spotlights the animal.
As for editing…snow is tricky and can pick up a blue cast in the shadows. You can make it whiter by taking out some of the blue. I would like to see the coyote stand out a bit more and would add a touch of black to him and dehaze the background a bit more.
The coyote is sharp tip to tail so nicely done.
Hope that helps.
Julie
Julie,
Thank you for your critique and suggestions. I will reprocess the image with them firmly in mind.
No, I did not get follow up images of the coyote jumping and diving - I wasn’t expecting to see the coyote and was focused on quietly getting into position to photograph a moose and her calf bedded down in the meadow immediately behind the coyote . I literally clicked, he jumped and was gone. That’s my excuse for not being prepared.
Again, thank you for the critique and suggestions - they are much appreciated.
Doug
Well that happens to all of us! That you are out there is the main goal. You are most welcome.
