Opportunist

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 3, 2011235 views11 comments

I was sitting at a waterhole in the Kalahari waiting for a Brown Hyena to come for a drink. While sitting there, watching the clock as I needed to start heading back to camp, a black backed jackal came closer. The Cape Turtle Doves were very active and kept darting towards the water and then back into the tree. The Jackal came closer and I got ready to take a nice shop of it drinking, when it dipped its head and came up with a dead bird. I only managed to get off two shots. In hind site I should have upped the aperture and reduced shutter speed.

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/2500
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 250
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Focal Length 500.0mm

Crits always welcome.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on June 3, 2011 at 8:14 PM

Very nice, Neal. I quite like the dof in this image. It emphasizes the jackalface and eyes and makes it very clear what the prey is. Wonderful detail and behavior. Way to be ready when the moment arrived.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on June 3, 2011 at 8:59 PM

A terrific capture with great eye contact !
I may prefer to darken the mid tones a bit.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 4, 2011 at 12:06 AM

One of the things I love most about you images Neal is that you always seem to shoot them from incredibly low angles, and this is another fine example of that :^)

Assuming from the way you wrote this that you hadn't noticed it before, what a surprise it must have been for you seeing the Jackal come up with that dead Dove! Absolutely splendid shot, the action, the warm colours, the low angle, and the eye really takes this one well over the top, very well done :^)

I'd be interested to know why you were set up in shutter priority; seeing as there appears to have been plenty of ambient light for aperture priority to have set a fast enough shutter speed for you if those Hyenas came in.

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Butch Lama on June 4, 2011 at 12:21 AM

Wow...What an eye contact,awesome light and great details. Other than darkening a lil bit,this is a powerful image.

Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Upjeet Singh on June 4, 2011 at 4:31 AM

Powerful image Neal, Love the stare and the evening soft light. Agree with darkening of mid tones and would have preferred a vertical frame with more space on top. But one cant always get what they want in wild but a great moment captured.

Cheers

Registered on May 8, 2010, 50 Posts, 55 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on June 4, 2011 at 1:56 PM

Cool shot Neal! I love the super-low angle and that eye contact. The only down-side of the super-low angle is the OOF rocks in the FG though, therefore it would have been better if your angle were a little bit steeper here.

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

Comment posted by Harshad Barve on June 5, 2011 at 3:01 AM

A terrific capture with great eye contact

Registered on July 25, 2010, 39 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on June 5, 2011 at 12:37 PM

gorgeous Kalahari light Neal and I dig the head-on angle here...
do you think the dove drowned?

I agree with Vincent it would have been a touch better without the OOF FG rocks.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Turner on June 7, 2011 at 3:16 PM

Very sharp, great lighting, good eye contact and dramatic scene. Way to go on the capture.

Registered on December 3, 2005, 39 Posts, 109 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on June 11, 2011 at 12:05 PM

Very nice - I love the low angle...great moment...but yes, it needs a bit more contrast.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on June 11, 2011 at 12:15 PM

Thank you for taking the time to comment. As per your suggestions, I have increased the mid tone levels and contrast slightly.

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments