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Wild dog leaping
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Wild dog leaping

by Ajit Huilgol

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 10, 2013512 views4 comments
The Indian wild dog, or dhole, is a formidable hunter, like all wild dogs. It lives in packs that can number up to 30 or more individuals, although such large packs are becoming extremely rare. This particular dog was one of 7, and I managed to capture the image as they all set off on a hunt. There was a small ditch that I knew they would jump over, and waited. The plan worked perfectly. The bg is a bit cluttered, but that is the jungle floor and I had no control over it!
Species: Indian wild dog (Cuon alpinus)
Location: Kabini, Karnataka, India
Equip: Canon 1Dx, Canon 70-200 f2.8 lens at 153mm
Specs: ISO 800, f5.6, 1/640s, evaluative metering, aperture priority, -0.33 exp comp, hand-held from a vehicle.

As always, all critics and critiques welcome!

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on September 10, 2013 at 1:40 AM
Ajit,
What a remarkable capture :toast: :toast:
Do you think some reduction in reds would assist?
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on September 10, 2013 at 3:50 PM
Excellent action. The dog seems just a bit soft.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on September 10, 2013 at 7:57 PM
Great action shot of a seldom seen wild dog! If you get a chance to do again you might consider a slower shutter speed and panning with the dog to give more of a blurred BG. Thanks for sharing. Must have been exciting.
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on September 10, 2013 at 9:11 PM
I agree with the previous comments Ajit. I especially like the previous suggestion of doing this as a pan, might have been quite interesting. Of course you only get one chance and there is only a moderate chance of success - a risk you would have to weigh. Not sure if you feel this way but I get a real sense of getting inside the animal's head when I try to guess its next move and be there to capture the action as you have done here, very exhilarating. A very challenging photo to have taken, congratulations.
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments