Starting Out With a Bang

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 10, 20121,186 views19 comments

Well, it has been way too long since I said this, but Hi Everyone!

It feels good to be back on NPN! The talent is as impressive as ever. Well, 2011 was a crazy year for me. Started by going to Saudi Arabia in January, then to the NANPA Summit on a high school scholarship, Ireland in June, London in October to attend the Veolia awards ceremony (specially commended!), and finally a three week cultural exchange program in Indonesia based on the environment. Needless to say it was the most exciting year in my life, and I'm desperately try to figure out how I'm going to top it this year.

Enough with the update... This photo was taken last weekend. My dad and I decided to do a quick weekend excursion to try to locate the bobcats. On Sunday morning we found the mother, pregnant with new kitties, and patiently waiting in the field before sunrise. It was the first clear day in a long time, and as the sun rose, the light grew in intensity. Once the light peaked, as if on cue, she pounced onto an unsuspecting mole. This photo is by far one of my all time favorites, and it was definitely the official start of 2012 for me! Any comments or critiques are greatly appreciated. Please view large. :-)

Nikon D3
600mm f4 with 1.4x
ISO: 800
F5.6
1/400th

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on January 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM

Nice capture Joe - it's not the sharpest shot, but the action is excellent. Great way to start the new year!

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

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on January 10, 2012 at 10:16 PM

What a beautiful capture. You have excellent light and a great pose of this animal. In the larger version, it looks a tad bit soft but nothing that I would toss from the gallery. I think if you did some selective sharpening just on the face to show the rest of the bodies movement would improve it. Just my opinion. I would love to photograph a bobcat one day, they are seemingly common here yet so elusive.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 10, 2012 at 10:25 PM

NIce to see you back. A real incredible capture with wonderful lighting, colors and action. Sharpness is off but that's minor and can probably be further corrected in post processing

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on January 10, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Nice work, Joe. Great light and nice clean textures in this. I could see a minor crop from the bottom so the cat's not quite so centered, but there's very little to criticize here overall. Missed ya in Yellowstone!

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 11, 2012 at 12:21 AM

Hi Joe! Welcome back! Your 2011 certainly sounds like an incredible year, and you have indeed started 2012 off on the right foot with this capture! Simply beautiful light and a great look to the cat. Timing is excellent and the angle to the subject also really works for me. But in the end, it's the soft light painting both the grass and the bobcat so wonderfully that makes this a memorable image. The apparent softness is something to work on, but for me it's really not bad and certainly fits the soft lighting and palette here.

Looking forward to more from you in 2012!

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on January 11, 2012 at 12:32 PM

Hi Joe, welcome back. The light here is super sweet and the pouncing action caught at the perfect moment. The lack of sharpness is mentioned and indeed very unfortunate.

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

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on January 11, 2012 at 2:34 PM

Fantastic light and moment captured! Very special moment and must have been a thrill to witness in person!

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

Comment posted by William Bickle on January 12, 2012 at 10:09 AM

Hello Joe

All Nits already Mentioned..... SO only Positive from me.... Sweet light, well worth the wait. And the position at its Apex , I am sure helped stop the action. Welcome back , Great Start to a Great Year ahead !!!

Thanks for sharing

Bill

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 12, 2012 at 2:12 PM

Welcome back Joe!!! Sounds like you had an incredibley adventurous 2011. And it looks like 2012 is starting off very nicely for you too, another sweet bobcat photo. Especially nice because she is in mid jump. Since she is pregnant perhaps you'll have some wonderful family opportunties later in the year. Keep'em comming!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on January 13, 2012 at 4:52 AM

Hey Joe! Welcome back and it seems you had a great year...congrats with the BBC honours, a great privilege...
This photo really rocks (bar the sharpness issue

) - great light and subject and perfect placement in the frame.
Looking forward to more...

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

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on January 15, 2012 at 3:14 AM

Awesome ! The pose, light and setting are all sublime

I am amazed at the consistency with which you and your dad locate the guys. Hats off to your field skills.

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 15, 2012 at 2:17 PM

Great timing, Joe. I am looking forward to seeing more of that trip!

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

Comment posted by Sandipan Dutta on January 16, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Great action ! Great light !!

Registered on March 9, 2009, 171 Posts, 493 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on January 18, 2012 at 11:09 PM

Congratulations on the WP Joe. I'm gald to see that you're posting here again.

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 19, 2012 at 1:25 PM

Congratulations on the WP, well done.

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 19, 2012 at 1:33 PM

Hi, Joe - good to see you posting again!
Wonderful shot - congrats on the WP!
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Joe Sulik on January 20, 2012 at 12:57 PM

Thanks so much everyone! I applied a little more agressive selective sharpening, and that did the trick quite nicely.

Registered on January 7, 2009, 51 Posts, 165 Comments

Comment posted by Tammy Hoover on January 20, 2012 at 4:26 PM

Joe,
You must have been thrilled. I have been looking for Bobcats all winter long, I live in Nevada and they are a little harder to find,( I think). Your photos are great, I hope that you have a great career.
Thanks for sharing some great pictures.
Tammy Hoover

Registered on October 12, 2011, 5 Posts, 2 Comments

Comment posted by Kory Lidstrom on January 20, 2012 at 9:27 PM

Sometimes you just get lucky and everything works out. Hell of a capture.

Registered on November 19, 2008, 49 Posts, 1035 Comments