Hidden Gator

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 17, 2011183 views6 comments

While kayaking a very flooded Loxahatchee River, this gator showed up swimming ahead of us. We stayed back until it nestled into some cypress knobs and I snapped this while we quietly passed. Certainly an event to get your heart going

Nikon D300s 18-200mm VR @ 200mm HH from kayak
f/7.1
1/200s
ISO 640

Cropped to 45% for composition, reduced noise, sharpened subject, levels adjustments in CS5 on 27" iMac

- Luke

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on November 17, 2011 at 9:48 PM

Must have been quite an adventure to be in their element. I like the dappled light, particularly on the eye. The image has a nice "real" feel to it, a sense of being in the swamp with them.

As an aside, how do you protect your gear from water while shooting from a kayak ? just curious.

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on November 18, 2011 at 6:06 PM

Pretty cool, Luke--nice DOF and good focus on the subject, works for me!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on November 19, 2011 at 1:08 AM

Luke, I like how well that eye (and its reflection) sand out n this busy environment. The dappled light is handled well. It might need a very small rotation correction (CW).

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

Comment posted by Esme' Fantozzi on November 19, 2011 at 6:04 AM

I like it! I have done quite some paddling in the bayous when I was in Houston and this picture captures so well the way gators observe you in the water. Thank you for sharing.

Registered on July 27, 2006, 50 Posts, 300 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on November 19, 2011 at 11:50 AM

Thanks all for the comments.

Anand, I used a dry bag while in the kayak. I had the camera tucked in it most of the time (though I usually didn't have the bag closed - only when going through difficult sections of the river). I have some experience kayaking with my camera using a dry bag so I'm pretty confident. When I first kayaked this river in April I did not bring my gear along as I had never done something like that before and I of course am kicking myself for it as I saw a family of Barred Owls, but better to be safe than sorry!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 20, 2011 at 11:36 AM

I really like the moody feel of this one, Luke.

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