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This is mine . . .
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This is mine . . .

by Mario Moreno

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 26, 2014192 views10 comments
A Spotted Hyena getting away with a buffalo leg that a pride of lions had killed the previous night. Image taken in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

EOS 1D Mark IV - EF500mm f4.0L IS II USM - 1/800sec @ f4.0 - ISO 500

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 26, 2014 at 7:18 PM
In your face look at this predator. I like the compiosition and the great eye contact. I have a couple of nits. The first is the vegetation is a little overpowering. I would dial back the saturation a bit, so it's not so overpowering. The second is the Hynea's nose, which is a bit soft. The eyes look pretty sharp, however. Stepping down would have allowwed a wider depth of field. Looks like you had the shutter speed to trade off, since the subject looked stationary. Overall, a very nice capture.
Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on February 26, 2014 at 7:41 PM
This is so cool, great image mate.
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 26, 2014 at 8:46 PM
Hey Mario,

Good shot, complete with a nice bit of "ugh" factor! :wink:

I like this, and only two really minor nits. First (and I definitely might be wrong on this) - DoF looks just a tiny bit too thin...I love that the eyes through to the ears are in focus, but the tip of the nose looks a little soft (as well as one can determine on images of this size). I get that closing down much more might have caused the background to become a bit of an issue...always compromises.

Second - if this one was mine I think I'd pull back on the greens just a bit - looking kinda "electric" in this shot. I know grass CAN be that green (I run into the hyper-green grass issue all the time in the Great Bear Rainforest), but sometimes images work better with the grasses desaturated a little.

Cheers...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on February 27, 2014 at 11:44 AM
Great trophy n wonderful frame! I agree with Brad on both the points n may be temped to clone out the flying insects.
Jagdeep Rajput
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 27, 2014 at 6:18 PM
Excellent capture with great eye reflectivity. My only nit was to also suggest pulling back on the saturation of the greens. Comp works great.
I noticed the insects right away and concluded they tell part of the story, so I think they are an enhancement.
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Cloran on February 27, 2014 at 8:45 PM
The detail that shows in the larger version is top shelf. :toast: A great nature story. I would be seriously tempted to take out the two insects flying to the left of his head. The average viewer will think they are dust spots.
Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments
Comment posted by Mario Moreno on February 27, 2014 at 8:59 PM
Thanks for all the feedback …. I hear what you all agree on with regards to the shallow DOF and the softness on the nose. I wanted to keep an OOF background and couldn't move away from the carcass so had to make the best out of the situation. Could have changed to my other camera with a shorter lens ….. :roll eyes: The flies have to stay …. at least I got rid of the smell :wink:
Registered on January 24, 2012, 163 Posts, 369 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 27, 2014 at 9:16 PM
Hey Mario,

On the soft nose - you know...I run into this ALL the time with bear portraits. You may have already done this on this shot, but what works for me is focusing half-way between the nose and the eyes (on the bridge of the nose - rather than on the eyes). There's a common misconception out there at DoF is split with 1/3 in front of the focal point and 2/3 behind - that's only true on short focal length lenses. Even by about 250mm DoF is split 50:50, so placing focal point half-way between the two points you want sharp (assuming adequate DoF) is often the best tactic. Seems like a little thing, but can make a big difference when picky photographers are critiquing your images! :wink:

Cheers...

Brad

PS: I totally agree with keeping the flies - but thanks for filtering out the smell!
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by William Bickle on February 28, 2014 at 8:27 AM
Hello Mario

Quite a Stinker here! :)

Well done, I agree about keeping the flies as Lon pointed out:) The focus works for me! Great sharpness & detail where it really matters (Eyes to ears) the mouth full of debris , doesn't require the focus to get your Image Impact!

Thanks for sharing

Bill

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Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments
Comment posted by Ashleigh Scully on March 6, 2014 at 8:13 PM
Wow! Amazing capture! I love the green background and how the leg is completely horizontal. I think this helps with the composition too. :jump:
Registered on November 4, 2013, 36 Posts, 210 Comments