Spotted Hyena Cub

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 4, 201183 views10 comments

During our trip last week to the Kruger National Park, I had a few opportunities to test the high ISO capabilities of my new kit...and obviously the D3s did not disappoint, but even the D7000 performed very well.

This young cub was photographed close to its roadside den on an overcast morning at sunrise.

Techs:
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 165mm
f5.6 @ 1/200 SS @ ISO-3200

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on September 4, 2011 at 2:10 PM

Hey Morkel,
Isn't life with the high ISO's great?!!!! I actually really like Hyena's.....and tight comps so this all works for me. Really nice pose on this little guy too!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on September 4, 2011 at 3:21 PM

Hi Morkel, the young cubs seem to be more appealing than the adults, although I wouldn't want to cuddle this one.

Nice colouring & detail and the use of RoT's I see.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 4, 2011 at 5:02 PM

Great look. I really like the eye quality. I am not sure of effect, but I wonder if you experimented with some selective tweaking, darkening the oof background, whether this might jump out even more.

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

Comment posted by Sally King on September 4, 2011 at 7:45 PM

Excellent pose and wonderful details. Adorable face but I too understand not to be petted. Well placed in the frame. My camera certainly couldn't do this well at that ISO.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on September 4, 2011 at 9:59 PM

Wow, wouldn't have guessed iso 3200! Looks fantastic. Sometimes I actually think higher iso actually adds something to the feel of the image. Love the subtle brown tones in the hyena and environment. The bit of orange debris in the llc is a bit of a distraction. Nice when you can use a 70-200 in a wildlife situation, doesn't happen often for me.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 5, 2011 at 12:42 PM

Thanks for your comments guys, glad you enjoyed it

The "orange" piece is an auburn-coloured Mopani leaf.

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

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on September 5, 2011 at 4:42 PM

Super detail Morkel. Glad to hear the new kit is working out for you.

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on September 5, 2011 at 6:22 PM

Excellent portrait, it looks great at iso 3200 Morkel, the orange caught my eye and I was thinking it was something unnatural but since it's a leaf I would certainly leave it.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 6, 2011 at 4:14 PM

Thanks for viewing and commenting, Steve and Nate...

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on September 8, 2011 at 6:16 PM

Wonderful pose, look and detail for ISO 3200. The head turn and eye contact look really good on the larger image, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments