Looming irritations

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 10, 2012718 views13 comments

Flies! These horribly irritating, annoying, buzzing, disease-bearing and sucking little creations bother us all and most mammals possibly a lot more than us. Meerkats are no exception. Here two budding flies are approaching an unsuspecting relaxed little Meerkat that is seemingly enjoying a quiet moment of the day in the busy Meerkat way of life, but not for long! Poor little Meerkat.

Meerkat a.k.a. Suricate (Suricata suricatta) - Note: This group of meerkats is habituated, but totally wild & free and they not being fed.
Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
Camera Model Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Shutter Speed 1/1000 Sec.
Aperture Value f/6.3
ISO Speed 800
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 310mm
Crop 95% of original.

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on September 10, 2012 at 11:38 AM

Flies may be pests but they sure do add a lot to this image Vincent! What a terrifc photo of this meerkat on sentry duty. The colors are gorgeous and all the detail in the meerkat's fur is amazing.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 10, 2012 at 11:45 AM

Hey Vincent,

Where's the catch light in the fly's eyes? And I find that copyright symbol really distracting!!

Obviously totally kidding - this is great! Love the composition, colours, selective focus (could you separate the subject from its background any more??) and the detail. Flies aren't half bad either!

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Must be great having a chance to shoot these guys at eye level. Though the horizon line's a bit of a distraction, I am quite fond of the colors.

Max

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

Comment posted by Verdon on September 10, 2012 at 12:33 PM

sweet, love the relaxing and the same way goofy pose, nice soft light with two tone background plus flies what make a picture stunning

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

Comment posted by Morgan Casey on September 10, 2012 at 2:57 PM

Great pose! I really like the lighting and bokeh. Nicely done.

Registered on November 16, 2010, 22 Posts, 269 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 10, 2012 at 5:37 PM

fabulous angle, great light, and compelling content here Vincent.
top shot all around

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

Comment posted by Karen Kane on September 10, 2012 at 6:37 PM

Superb! It is so well done Vincent, I'm sitting here expecting that meerkat to react to the flies any moment

Registered on August 4, 2012, 66 Posts, 726 Comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on September 10, 2012 at 9:48 PM

Vincent - Fun and Serious shot at the same time. Those two insects make this otherwise good shot into a great one.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on September 10, 2012 at 10:37 PM

Wow! And, triple wow! Outstanding image - great subject, posing in the now iconic fashion, the bg, and, of course, the two flies! But, the watermark is distracting, I'll admit.

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on September 11, 2012 at 11:48 AM

It has all been said Vincent.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on September 11, 2012 at 4:30 PM

A beautiful story telling photo Vincent

And the flies are the biggest part of this story. Wonderful detail, great pose and background too. I wonder how many flies were trying to distract you from creating this image.

Excellent work Vincent!!!

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 14, 2012 at 1:38 PM

Hmmm, I didn't know meerkats were partial to giraffe tattoos!

Those flies look intent on a serious mission and they certainly add a flavor to the capture that is entirely different from one without them. Lovely light, well captured.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on September 16, 2012 at 11:11 AM

Love the pose, the two tone BG and then the 2 flies just send it over the top for me Vincent. Great work!

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