American Crocodile

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 18, 2011106 views3 comments

Last winter in the Everglades was a very hard winter. I stayed cold down there long enough to kill 70 of their Crocs. That was tough because they are endangered as it is. This guy was resting in the shade on a warm afternoon by the boat canal in Flamingo. The first croc I had the opportunity of seeing.

Canon 30D
Sigma 70-300
Aperture Priority
Shutter 1/1000
Aperture f11
ISO 800
300mm
Levels
Full Frame

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on February 18, 2011 at 2:26 PM

Wow, very neat capture Richard! You very seldom see an image of the American Croc (at least I don't). You handled the harsh lighting well here.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 19, 2011 at 11:28 PM

In the thumbnail and the small size the dappled light creates a camo effect. In the large edition he "comes out" nicely! The situation was difficult, but you composed this very well. I think you should try it as a wall print, as I believe it will remain visually interesting after many viewings. Good work.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 20, 2011 at 8:14 AM

HI Richard,

I like the diagonal flow of this image and, as Lon pointed out, the larger version has to be seen to really appreciate this one. Nice detail and I quite like the touch of water on the bottom and the "framing" foliage along the top edge of the image. I have mixed feelings about the dappled lighting - on one level it almost makes the crocodile look like it's hiding (a good addition to the shot), but it does necessitate that the image be seen quite large to be appreciated. You definitely did a good job (technically) handling the lighting...

Cheers...thanks for posting this very interesting shot...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments