Coyote In Winter

Classic coyote pose. I love the tracks in the snow. The exposure looks very good. My only nit is that the face is a bit dark due to the angle. It would have been nice if he had given you a better head turn. I would try to lighten the face area a bit. Wonderful shot. I, personally, have not had much luck with coyotes. Well done.

I think you succeeded. It says "wild and free" to me as well. I enjoy the simplicity and find the tracks and the coyote's shadow to be key elements. Well done.

I like the angle because you get to see the tracks, and his fur is lit up nicely.
Exposure looks really good to me.
I'd love to see the original to see how you cropped.

What's he looking at?
Al

I like this Ralph, my favorite thing about it is the trail of footprints that leads from the lower right hand corner of the frame. If you have more of the footprints I would include them in the image even if it means the coyote ends up being centered or to the left of center.

Hey Ralph,

I'm in agreement with Nate on this one - it's those footprints that make the image for me. But I like the image as framed (including the amount of space dedicated to the footprints and the positioning of the coyote in the frame). Nicely done!

Cheers...

Brad

I like the sense of the sloping hillside and the tracks coming from the lower right corner.

I really like this one too Ralph, The footprints are the kicker. Great detail and excellent exposure work. I wonder though, if this photo would be good candidate for a pano-crop which includes the grasses on the left, but cropped just below the rough patch of snow on the right side.

I don't mind the lack of eye contact, the other strong compositional elements more than make up for it and make a statement as you point out. I think the image might be even stronger if the upper bits of vegetation poking through the snow were eliminated and more foreground added - "assuming" of course that that foreground was free of distractions. I love the texture of the snow and those footprints as well. I'm always captivated by footprints that I encounter on my wanderings in search of wildlife, they record the movements and behaviour of animals when they are not being monitored or influenced by humans.