Our local camera club had a “photo” tour of Wolfhaven International on Monday. They’re a rescue organization for captive wolves and wolf-dogs that owners no longer want and also participate in the federal species preservation programs for the Red Wolf and Mexican Gray Wolf. The animals are mostly kept as pairs for company and a few of the pairs that are very accustomed to humans are in enclosures that are viewable on the tour. Shooting conditions are far from ideal as you have to stay behind a rail that’s five or six feet from a chain link fence so it’s difficult to blur out the chain link unless the wolf is quite a ways from the fence. If I recall correctly, the lighter colored one of this pair is the wolf and the darker one the wolf-dog mix.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Anything.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
I tried to keep the major attention on the in-focus animal. The original image had very little space on the right and I added some, but it seemed to take attention away from where I wanted it, so I ended up taking about half of the extra away… Does the composition work?
Any pertinent technical details:
7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, hand held, f/7.1, 1/1000, iso 2000, manual exposure. Canvas adjustment mentioned above. I cloned a few bright spots out of the background and used Topaz Detail to bring out the fur texture in the main subject.
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Beautiful animals, Dennis. Fine detail in the fur, great eyes, and an interesting story.
Sandy
A stunning image Dennis. Irrespective of the location and genealogy, wolf lovers everywhere will flip for this one. In fact the slight OOF for the background hybrid could have connotations for the Canus lupus lovers of the world. In the right venue this should have serious commercial potential, I would think.
Hi Dennis,
I like the composition and the DOF is perfectly fine for these 2 pups. You handled the surrounding distracting elements very well. Well done…Jim
Wonderful expression on the in focus wolf. Great job on the exposure and detail. I will be back in town late tomorrow…
Hi Hank. I was looking at the Wolfhaven website to check on their dedicated photography tours and noticed their terms for photography specify that you can’t sell images of their animals. You’re free to post them or give them away, but not to make a profit. I think that’s to clearly distinguish them from the game farms.
And important info to have, too. Kind of like a visit to Monument Valley and Shiprock in the Southwest.
I have to guess though, based on our experience in business, that an approach to Wolfhaven themselves could result in a licensing agreement, just as in the Southwest. Wolfhaven is almost certainly in perpetual need of funds, and licensing would present the opportunity of funding while also giving them some measure of control on how the images are used.
I suspect you are correct, Hank. They had a woman come in and photograph the wolves and do a book based on it. If I were in business as a photographer, I’d certainly look into it, since they’re very handy and I have some connections with them through other avenues. And you’re right about their finances. Oddly, though the wolves in the species recovery programs technically belong to the US Government, they get zero funding from the feds.
Very nice pose and composition on this, Dennis. I love the eye contact from the wolf.
