The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
It’s been a while since I went out in the woods - a month or so. I’ve been doing some other things and it’s been pretty cold. So when it warmed up to about 20 and was mostly sunny, I went out with the snowshoes. Haven’t used them in a couple years and got kinda tired after about 2 hours breaking trail, but it was wonderful and I met this little one. Not so little as it is an adult and probably over 2 feet long. I had a feeling one was around since I’d just walked under a hemlock with lots of little branch ends scattered underneath it - a sure sign of possible porcupines, especially in winter. They den sometimes during the cold months and sometimes not alone (ouch!), but I suspect this one was alone since the cavity is so small. Poor thing was afraid of my presence and made a lot of squeaking noises and showed me the business end pretty much the whole time. The only time it peeked its face out was after I sat quietly for about 5 minutes and luckily I was ready.
There is something so renewing about being outside. Didn’t even have cell service which is pretty normal for a lot of the county and I only heard a logging truck now and again. I really hope the weather and temperatures stay cooperative so I can renew my connection to it again.
Specific Feedback
Thoughts on cropping and processing welcome. I did have to crop a bit and clone out some branches since they were in the way. Just basically happy to be back in nature for a bit and having this lovely moment.
I can’t imagine sitting for 5 minutes in 20 degree weather. What a nice reward!! I’ve only seen “Porkypines” farther north, in OR, or up in the Sierra, so it’s a treat to see one again! Your patience was rewarded with a nice look – a sort of leave-me-alone glance. The poor thing must be cold.
You have wonderful detail and tonalities! My only thought about processing is to wonder about a fairly strong vignette in the corners to give an even more 3D look to his doorway. Vignetting at the bottom might need a little more canvas there if you have it. Wonderful capture in any case!
What a nice catch Kris. I’ve never seen one in the wild. He looks soft and harmless. It was worth the wait. Maybe like @Diane_Miller said, a little vignetting would frame him in.
I went out as well but did not see anything but a few birds. We got about 10 inches last night. I wore mukluks and went thru the woods looking for tracks of any kind but did not see any. I LOVE being out in nature TOO. So quiet and fresh. I didn’t have on the right gloves for the cold and taking pictures. My hand and face starting freezing so I called it a day after an hour or so. I got some nice tree shots and a turkey vulture over head, I kept moving, LOL
THANKS
Thanks @Diane_Miller & @SkipsPics - porkies are quite adorable and shy and I think this conveys that pretty well. Now I know where the den is, I might just see it again. The trail it is on isn’t a popular one, hence breaking trail this late into the season. I put a bit stronger vignette version on the top. I had a more subtle one in place and I think I like the updated one better. Thanks for the suggestion.
20 degrees isn’t that cold if you’re moving and snowshoeing, especially on an ungroomed, unbroken trail, is work. At one point I was sweating a little in the sun. So squatting down for a while is not that big a deal. I did have a cold butt though!
Very interesting frame and bark of tree really adds upto the frame !
I was just wondeing if adding more canvas on top may help?
I like the vignette effect here and the quick glance from the Porcupine.
Oh wow, Kris, I like this. I didn’t even know that porky pines used dens. Very nice capture. I agree with @Diane_Miller I can’t image sitting and waiting 5 minutes in 20 degree weather! It paid off though.
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman - it’s the first one I’ve come across since the youngster I photographed a couple years ago at the beginning of fall. After that I did some research and found out they do use dens although I think they co-opt shelters other animals have made. Kind of like owls and wood ducks using woodpecker nests.
it’s really not that bad to sit still when it’s sunny and 20 with very little wind. I have plenty of cold weather gear and it was no prob.
Kris: I’m super late to this party but was indulging myself by going through your images. Really good portrait and a testimony to patience being rewarded. I’ve never seen a porcupine in the wild but was sorely affected by them many years ago. We built a house in a rural development northwest of Spokane in 1980. The lots were 1-2 acres and cut out of a ponderosa pine forest. Our house was one of the first on the street. We had two Norwegian Elkhounds and a mutt. I wanted to build a fence around the back acre but was in no hurry. We just let the dogs run and for the most part they stayed close by. The Elkhounds were pretty young then and started exploring. The mutt was older and wiser and was content to let them do their thing. Then one night the Elkhounds came home with their faces full of quills. We had to take them to the vet to have them removed and I think it cost us about $50 apiece which for us was real money in those days. Two nights later they came back but with fewer quills but still requiring another vet visit. Two nights after that the female came home with just a few quills. Deducing that she was a slow learner my wife pinned her and I used pliers to not so gently remove the quills. She was not amused but she never got into a porcupine again. Confirming her slow learner status she later got into a skunk and if you know anything about the density of the fur on an Elkhound you can imagine how long the odor lingered. Finishing the fence took on a much higher priority. Thanks (I think) for jogging that memory and for a fine image certainly worthy of the EP. >=))>
Thanks for taking a look, @Bill_Fach - porcupines are not runners so unless right at the base of a good sized tree, encounters with dogs are pretty much par for the course if the dogs are not leashed. Sorry your Elkies got it in the face…that’s painful for both them and you. I don’t recall my childhood dog getting into it with a porcupine, but she did with a skunk and oy … that was painful for everyone. For weeks.
