In an earlier post, I had mentioned that the pack of dogs had come across a herd of oryx and that they had succeeded in separating a calf from the herd. The calf attempted to use a technique of placing its hind legs against a large object (in this case our jeep) to protect itself against attack from the rear. This is often a successful technique for an adult which can defend itself with sweeps of its horns, but not so in the case of a calf.
In this photo, the calf had been attacked and pulled away just a few feet from the jeep and was killed. My focal length wound up including a part of the jeep in order to get all the dogs in the scene. At first, I thought about trying to clone the jeep out, but on second thought I decided to leave it in as a reminder to myself as to just how close this action occurred to me. What choice would you have made? Taken in early morning with backlighting.
What technical feedback would you like if any? Any and all.
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any and all.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
1/1000, f/8, ISO 500 at 24mm.
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This is an intense shot. The vehicle is part of the shot and goes with your story. It shows how close you were to the action. You could do a tight crop on the group of dogs plus prey if necessary. Otherwise, I would be inclined to leave this one as presented…Jim
Richard, I like the mix of light and shadow here. That and the unique angle (which honestly had me wondering if the camera was held up with a monopod or taken from a drone at first!) make it pretty unique.
I’m ambivalent about the inclusion of the vehicle. While it is a man-made element and visually distracting, it does serve a purpose in telling the story of your encounter… so I could go either way. It’s one of those shots that would work really well in a slide show (showing a tight image, and then this wider shot to show the context).
Richard, this is an incredible portrayal of just how awful a Wild Dog kill is, and to have it happen so close to you is an unforgettable experience. I’m glad you kept the vehicle in the image, as one would wonder without it, how you were at such an angle. I can almost hear the poor little Oryx screaming as the dogs start to devour it while it is still alive, as they do with their kills. It couldn’t be a more powerful image.
Very powerful image and the story too, Wild Dogs are so ruthless killers. I like the story telling side of the image but the photographer inside wants to see this without vehicle too !
IMHO it is possible to enhance the drama of lighting here.
Thanks to all for your comments which are appreciated. Here’s a re-post with the vehicle cloned out. I also used a Lights 2 luminosity mask to add contrast to the scene. @JRajput, I’d like to see your version of same. Richard
Fantastic action. I just love the tactics of wild dogs hunting. Great light in the shot. I wonder if a lower angle wasn’t possible to get the vehicle out of the frame?
Grt, Ingrid.
