Stallion Skirmish

Gallery: WildlifePosted December 28, 2011222 views8 comments

I have wanted a good "zebra fight" image for a while now.

I went to Rietvlei Nature Reserve which is on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa, over the weekend in rainy conditions and was rewarded with this. A bit of a crop since they weren't close, but I think the image quality has held up nicely given the ISO setting was 2000.

This'll have to do until I get a better one

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II + 1.4x TC @ 700mm
f5.6 @ 1/1250 SS @ ISO-2000

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on December 28, 2011 at 10:13 PM

The subjects are sharp where they ought to be, and the action's eye-catching, too. But, there is too much gaussian blur in the foreground, which, to me at least, is a little off-putting. All the best for the new year!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on December 28, 2011 at 11:18 PM

Awesome image! I really like the DOF, the zebras look nice and sharp! The colours look really nice. Congrats on another great image, Morkel!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on December 29, 2011 at 8:53 AM

Hello Morkel

Great interaction. Maybe a little more dof would be preferred but enjoy the image as presented.

Amazing you have such available animals in their natural environment !!!! I am very envious. Very cold here today at minus 18 celcius with some snow, but no giraffes or zebras, just deer & wolves.

Thanks for sharing this fine image

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on December 29, 2011 at 11:22 AM

I really like the action on this one Morkel, but I do think it looses some impact (for me anyway) because of the distance. I was going to suggest cropping even tighter on this one, but you say, it is already a bit of a crop, so not sure if you have more to work with. Still a very cool image and would have been fun to see this also.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on December 29, 2011 at 10:02 PM

Nice capture - it'd be nice if they were closer, but the zebra are plenty sharp and I rather like the dof. The shot makes me think of the view that a crouching lion might have if it were creeping toward the two.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 30, 2011 at 2:40 AM

Great action nd nice habitat.
I'm also envious of all the critters you have there!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on December 30, 2011 at 8:22 AM

Hey Morkel,

Well, between the shallow DOF and the coats of the subjects, it's safe to say these guys really pop out from the surroundings. The image works for me as posted but in the end I'm probably wishing for the same thing as you were - simply that you were a little closer to the action!

Cheers...thanks for sharing this one...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on December 30, 2011 at 5:34 PM

Thanks for the comments folks.
Ajit - no extra blur applied, result of the lens wide open

Bill - I would love to point my lens at some wolves and deer and bears sometime

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