Hi Everyone,
My wildlife work is pretty hit or miss, so I haven’t been posting in wildlife in a while. I haven’t posted to the new site at all yet, so by way of introducing myself, I thought I would share one of my favorite and best wildlife images.
I am always up for suggestions, or I wouldn’t post here at all. Let me know what you think and whether I could do better with what I have here. I have another of this fine lady (I think female) when she first saw me. This is a last glance before disappearing into the same brush that I had scared a rabbit into moments earlier.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
This was an unexpected opportunity, and my lens was long from shooting at a great horned owl in a nearby wetland, so my dof is not as pleasing as it might be. Thoughts on getting less distraction from the background (more artistic than technical feedback, perhaps) would be great.
I just love the gaze, she gave you. The composition is some what different, but it works very well. I like how the foreground bushes are covering the Coyote.
Thanks, Jagdeep. The composition was a function of having a 100-400mm lens and being less than 30 feet from the coyote. I was just really caught off guard and limited in my fov.
You might also notice that the coyote is looking over my left should, rather than at my camera. My partner was rounding the bend, and the coyote had already seen me and was alarmed to find my +1.
For fun, I have attached the first moment the coyote saw me.
Great eye contact and nice detailed captured Marylynne. One option to reduce the distraction of the background would be to crop some from the left and make it more of a portrait, you could also add a bit more on the right if you have any left in your original.
These coyotes have massive ears and both images show this quite well. You could try Nate’;s suggestion for a portrait crop if you want. Your second image is begging for a portrait crop. Dogs of any species, breed, or size are quite photogenic and you captured this one quite well. The gaze is priceless…Jim
Thanks Jim and Nate. I am attaching a couple of portrait crops from each of the two captures, and below, for the canine enthusiast, a third capture (from when the coyote was assessing the approach of my companion.
My biggest regret with these: I was still at 800 ISO from shooting owls inside this dark oasis. Between that and the 7D, there is noise. Still…not bad, and I can’t wait to go back to this spot.
Here is the shot right after the first, dark-background eye-contact shot. Coyote sees a second person approaching.
For the true canine enthusiast, I’ll share a pic of my dog, Piper, who bears a striking resemblance, in the Man and Fauna gallery and link it here when it is posted.
The composition is some what different, but it works very well. I like how the foreground bushes are covering the Coyote.
