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Poetry in Motion
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Poetry in Motion

by Ashley Vincent

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 18, 2011207 views11 comments
Once a leader has moved off to feed on another Alluaudia plant (please refer to previous post for info on the Alluaudia plant) the rest of the troop is sure to follow.

As a photographer hoping to catch detailed shots of the action, aside from the speed with which they move, the factor that gives cause to the greatest frustration is that generally speaking Verreaux's Sifaka tend to head in a direction away from the sun – after all, leaping those distances and trying to land without puncturing a hand or a foot on a long, sharp thorn is surely challenging enough, without a blinding beam of light shining directly in your eyes! - leaving little light to illuminate their facial features.

After many hours of gnashing my teeth on several days that failed to produce the images I'd been dreaming of, I finally found myself in a position where the leader led the rest of the troop off at an angle that was about as perfect as I could have hoped for.

Pleased as am with all of these images on their own, I saw the potential in creating a composite that better tells the story. If you look closely you may actually notice that the subjects in this series are in fact two different Sifaka!

Critique and comments always welcome.

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by Balan Vinod on October 18, 2011 at 5:22 AM
Ashley, have been following this series ..and the now I have been looking at the bottom two images ...which are through the roof .....well done on this series ..

Balan Vinod
Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on October 18, 2011 at 11:38 AM
It is really great to have choices on the opportunity like this !
Jagdeep Rajput :toast:
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on October 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM
Great series- Excellent dinamic shots of this wonderful animal- A skillfull job, Fabio
Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments
Comment posted by David Hemmings on October 18, 2011 at 3:38 PM
Awesome images, each one of them!
Registered on May 26, 2006, 178 Posts, 1680 Comments
Comment posted by Guy Runco on October 18, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Wonderful shots Ashley, really well done. I do see some haloing around the Alluaudia, minor nit though. Great job!
Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Deibert on October 19, 2011 at 8:28 AM
This is ridiculously awesome, Ashley! If you're ever looking for someone to carry your gear for you, I'm your guy! Seriously...awesome capture! :toast:
Registered on September 30, 2011, 48 Posts, 125 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on October 19, 2011 at 8:47 AM
Hey Ashley,

What I find most interesting here is that the different individuals use virtually identical styles (arm position, tail position, etc.) to make the leaps. I suspect the behaviour is learned (rather than innate) and makes me wonder how many attempts are needed before young individuals "get it right". Well captured - looks like you had some good fun with these guys...

Cheers...thanks for sharing the experience...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Marcellini on October 19, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Very cool, patience paid off! Thanks for the extra info.
Registered on November 27, 2007, 250 Posts, 2468 Comments
Comment posted by David Sewell on October 20, 2011 at 1:00 PM
This is a great series. Considering the short time you had in Madagascar, you did fantastically well.

David
Registered on September 10, 2008, 63 Posts, 801 Comments
Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on October 23, 2011 at 10:50 PM
Many thanks for your kind words and comments Balan, Jagdeep, Fabio, David, Guy, Mark, Brad, Paul, and David :^)
Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on October 24, 2011 at 2:57 AM
Great work Ashley! I love the bottom right image the most... :toast:
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments