Wildlife - 1st Place

you brought smile on my face, STUNNING!!!

Great shot, the bg color and sharpness of the porcupine are excellent!

Holy smokes, Jaye...you NAILED this shot! I was watching you laying on your stomach down in the ditch and was hoping you had somehow found a good angle and clear view, and you sure did. I cannot get over how good this image is! Incredible feel and mood to it from the open light, outstanding techs and gorgeous oof fall colours in the background with the contrasting darker top half. Love your comp as well.

First class, top shelf, outstanding, and several other superlatives. I might be biased of course.

You are getting DEPENDABLE on delivering great images from nearly every photo opp, even when it doesn't go as ideally as we might have liked. That's the trademark of a professional. Way to go.

Well, your dad said it so well...
Super low angle, lovely soft light, great inquisitive pose, stunning detail, vibrant fall colours, what more could you want Jenaya??
Love this image, for me one of your best.

Interesting how they differ from our porcupines, this one looks hairy where ours is covered in quills...does this one have quills?

VERY nice!!

Thanks so much for the kind comments everyone!!

Morkel, yes, he's covered in quills as well. When we spotted him, we actually thought the same thing you did! I sure do like the "hair-do" he has, though !

This is a beautiful animal and looks so cuddly.... Great look at the eye and the colors are really nice. The OOF vegetation in front of the animal is a minor nit but the face really draws the viewer in

A fine image in all respects Jenaya.He almost looks "cuddly".. You really made the best of this opportunity.

Such a cute and adorable shot... Love it.

Superb shot, Jenaya, of an unusual mammal! Our porcupines in India are just like the ones in Afrcia - they're full of sharp quills, and usually nocturnal. You've made the most of this - the low angle, the placement of the subject in the frame, the bg....excellent!

Super shot...

Never thought, Porcupine can be so gorgeous
Very nicely done, I may prefer to burn the foreground a bit.
Jagdeep Rajput

Jenaya, I think that this is a fantastic capture in all respects. Not a single thing I can find that takes away from this image. What a cute little guy!

Fabulous shot - love the light and the composition. Great job!

The sitting pose and great background make this one of the best porcupine shots I've seen. Congrats on a great find and nice work nailing the shot.

Max

Terrific perspective and background control.

Fantastic image.

You definitely got the best out of those few moments. Nice and sharp shot, beautiful BG and composition but also the OOF FG is very nice...Gorgeous!

This is simply AWESOME Jenaya

Super Adorable Too

Ken Archer

An outstanding image! Compositionally and lighting perfect and taken just at the right moment to capture the head turn and raised foot.

Love this Jenaya! I especially like the soft light and colors, great details & pose..
This really came together nicely, very well done

Fantastic!

Hey, Jaye! CONGRATULATIONS on the Weekly Pick!!!!

I guess I've already given my critique and gushed over this image above, so I'll just leave you with my most heartfelt cudos. Great job, and a very worthy honour. This is a strikingly beautiful image. So cool that your photography gave you this opportunity as well (to be in the Yukon in the first place).

Thanks for the WP!! I am very excited to have been chosen!

Gorgeous portrait Jenaya! Wonderful detail and sharpness. Those quills look so soft here!

Love it!!!

Was meant to be...you and he
Beautiful image
Thank you Jenaya

Guy Nelson

Don't know HOW I missed this before - a very exceptional image!
Detail and light on those quills couldn't be better. Mr. Porky just GLOWS.
Sure hope you're considering this for for the NANPA portfolio..
A wonderful WP!!!!!

Outstanding Jenaya and congratulations, Well Deserved.

Congratulations of the Photo of the Month! Adorable image.

Great shot indeed Jenaya! Wonderful detail on this fella, neat pose and lighting just right! Bgnd very pleasing! Well done!

Did not see this one until now with your cover selection! Congrats on having the cover. This is simply the best shot of a porcupine I have ever seen! Superb in every way

Very nice portrait Jenaya, and congrats on the best photo of the month.

Thank you so much everyone for your comments! I am very honored that it got chosen as Photo of the Month!

It was pretty awesome watching this guy, and I was so glad he stopped when he did. I had been laying on the ground waiting for him to come, and then he stopped in the perfect spot! I will probably have to share a few more of him now .

Congrats on having this great image picked for photo of the month, Jenaya. The larger version is perfect IMO.
Although I'm not a wildlife photographer any longer I can really appreciate seeing one of these critters in the wild. I was lucky to have seen one in Zion NP years ago now. What I recall to this day as he crossed over a hilly road was seeing the bottoms and the pads on his feet. Kind of funny how we recall some of the darnedest little things in life.

Great image. Congrats

Soo sweet! Excellent image! Congrats on the POM

Hi Jenaya Congrats on an outstanding capture, and winning the POM and the WP. You are truly blessed to see Gods great works.
Albert Darmo
Que. Canada

Excellent shot.!!!!

Jaye, many congrats on this excellent win - 1st Place Winner - Wildlife .
This is just a stunning image, and will receive recognition wherever you show it. Your photography is truly exceptional, and your growth as an artist has been wonderful to watch. Thanks for sharing this with us!

Sandy

Congratulations on the Wildlife category win! Superb image.

Fantastic image,,,,,,,a well deserved congrats on the EPA.

Congratulations Jenaya on your Wildlife Award-stunning image and a terrific achievement!

Congratulations on your wildlife WINNER, Jenaya!
Keep up the Great work.
Neil

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S, J E N A Y A ! ! !

I know I've already commented on this image and congratulated you back when this was selected as a Weekly Pick, but pretty much had to say "Way to go!" once again. What an incredible honour! And what an endearing and perfectly executed shot. We are so proud of you, and Sandy's comments above about your growth as an artist in the past couple years couldn't be more true. You are becoming a fantastic wildlife photographer, and your love for the animals you photograph is abundantly clear to all who have the privilege of meeting you, and even shows through in your images themselves.

Great decision to lay down to capture this guy, too...my images of him pale in comparison because of several outstanding decisions you made in a matter of seconds. I may never forget watching you scrambling down the slope and laying down in the Yukon scrub with your 200-400mm pointed up at this cute porcupine and listening to your shutter fire. I was hoping for the best as he struck this pose for all of one second, but to say you nailed this shot is an understatement. Congratulations on a very high honour in being selected as the 1st Place - Wildlife image for 2012 here on NPN, but much more for your approach to wildlife photography as a whole and putting it all together when it mattered in this opportunity.

You rock!

With great pride...

Jenaya - Terrific capture and well deserved 1st Place winner!

Hi Jenaya Congrats on a well desereved 1st place win
Albert Darmo
Canada

What a great pose! I occasionally see porcupines, and have even photographed a couple over the years, but I have never seen one in person or in pictures that looks this good. Your low angle and exposure brilliantly turns the background into a wonderful frame to show off the beauty of this critter. It's so refreshing to see "regular" wildlife appreciated in a field that seems to be dominated by the large, "charismatic megafauna." Congrats on a well-deserved award!

My absolute favorite too!!! Congrats.

Edwin

I also don't know how I missed this one! The facial expression is outrageous and like your dad said, you NAILED it. Great focus, great bokeh, great image. Amen!

Such an amazing shot, especially off the cuff! The background really makes this shot for me, it just enhances the porcupine's quills?, even the colors in his coat are reflected in that boca as well.

Such an amazing shot, especially off the cuff! The background really makes this shot for me, it just enhances the porcupine's quills?, even the colors in his coat are reflected in that boca as well.

Wow, you really found the sweet spot that delivers perfect clarity of subject and beautiful background bokeh. Congratulations on the yearly award. I could go on, but your dad has already covered all the bases.

Hi Jenaya! This is the cutest porcupine ever! You got him so sharp! He has such a cute pose and I like how you can see his paws and claws. I love how he stands out and the colours are so cool. It's an awesome picture!