River Otter

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 24, 2012245 views11 comments

A fleeting chance to snap this guy out in Katmai, just love the facial expression.

Steve

Subject: North American River otter, head on look to camera (Lontra canadensis)
Location: Katmai, Alaska
Camera: Canon MKIII
Lens: 500f/4 MKIII - HH
Exposure: 1/400s at f/5.6 ISO400 0 stop compensation
Crop: Slight crop (original capture horizontal)

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on March 24, 2012 at 8:20 AM

A fleeting chance which you made the best of! Really like the detail you caught in this portrait. Well done IMHO. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 24, 2012 at 8:47 AM

I like the eye contact, catchlight and expression of unafraid watchfulness. I can appreciate how rarely one of these guys holds still long enough for a decent image. Well done!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on March 24, 2012 at 6:26 PM

Indeed, an excellent photo that you got from a chance meeting. You must have quick reflexes.. Very nice pose and hard look from him/her. Great detail throughout most of the body which surprised me given the aperature you used. No nits. A keeper fot your portfolio.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on March 25, 2012 at 12:05 AM

what a great shot, he looks like grandpa with big lifetime experiences .....

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on March 25, 2012 at 12:26 AM

Terrific job in getting a clean shot ! I like the wet and unamused look

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 25, 2012 at 11:01 AM

Hi Steve,

That's quite the look - love the intense stare and the shallow DoF works well for me here. I tend to like simple images, so overall this one works for me (despite that busy and distracting background...kidding!!).

On my monitor the sharpening on the whiskers on the lateral side of the jaw (up to just below the eyes), upper nose pad, and between the eyes looks pushed too far - super easy to do with wet fur. I know we've discussed this before - feel free to ignore this comment if you disagree...

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

Brad

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

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on March 25, 2012 at 11:09 AM

Thanks folks.

I know we've discussed this before - feel free to ignore this comment if you disagree...

Always open to comments & feedback Brad, will take a look, cheers Steve.

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

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on March 26, 2012 at 7:45 AM

Cool expression indeed

and a technically very well executed image Steve.

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on March 26, 2012 at 3:49 PM

So difficult to get a shot like this of an otter, and so well done. I love the position of the otter, the head-on look and the sharpness of the head.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 26, 2012 at 5:14 PM

Love the look too, Steve...great details brought out by the soft overcast light.
I looked at the areas Brad mentioned and they're borderline IMHO, could stay as is or be tweaked to look less 'sharp'
(FWIW it certainly looks fine in the larger file)

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

Comment posted by Dottie Short on March 26, 2012 at 6:14 PM

This River Otter is cute as a button. Nice DOF to have eyes and tip of nose in focus. Large image is in-your-face excellent.

Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments