Icebreaker (c)

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 29, 2010171 views3 comments

This Otter was breaking up the ice this bitterly cold Winter's morning at the British Wildlife Centre in England.

They lived on a small island which overnight had become joined to the land by the ice and it was fascinating to watch as the otter systematically broke up the ice to prevent predators walking across.

This was taken as a single shot and I was lucky enough to actually capture a piece of ice still balancing on it's head as it broke through from underneath

It's almost full frame, I just slightly cropped some dead space off the top and right.

Sony A350
Sigma 50-500 EX
1/800th second
f6.3
ISO 200
500mm
-0.3 stop exposure compensation
Centre-weighted metering
Hand held

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 29, 2010 at 1:03 PM

Very cool timing. I especially like the texture of the water where he is breaking through the ice. You might want to back off a little on the sharpening of whiskers and bright part of face.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Billy Fairburn on October 30, 2010 at 12:55 AM

Great action Geoffrey, I love the ice on the head. I would agree that the whiskers are slightly oversharpened but other than that, nice one!

Registered on March 3, 2007, 123 Posts, 717 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on October 30, 2010 at 1:58 PM

This is very unique Geoff. I must admit that you explanation helps to put this into context else I would not immediately have guessed the otter was playing 'ice-breaker' and deliberately clearing the ice to make it's island safe. This must have been an awesome thing to observe! The ice on the head of course is priceless and makes the image interesting and your story gripping. Perhaps a slightly lower shooting angle (but not too low) would have made this even stronger. All in all this is excellent work.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments