Autumn Coyote
by Max Waugh
I recently dug up this Yellowstone photo taken several years ago. One of my favorite things about visiting the park in autumn is the light gold grass, which provides a different setting from the browns and greens of spring and summer.
I caught this coyote hunting in some tall grass just as the sun was about to go down behind the hill it was on. The rim lighting worked pretty well to separate the subject from the background, while it still blended in nicely, color-wise.
Canon 40D
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 320
1/1000th
f/5
(2008)
Max
Comments
6 commentsWhen I looked at the thumbnail I thought this was a "Where's Waldo" image!
I think your assessment of the image - that the rim lighting nicely draws attention to the subject despite it's near identical coloration to the background - is spot on. And it works real well for me - nicely seen and captured!
Cheers...
Brad
Phil, I shot a few both vertically and horizontally as the coyote was moving along this hillside. For whatever reason, this spoke to me more than a couple of the horizontals. It may have simply been that the coyote's pose was accentuated a bit more by the rim lighting in this situation, but I also liked how the field of "shiny gold" texture rose above it.
Max
I had a very similar experience a couple weeks ago in Hayden Valley, but with a young grizzly bear, I hope mine is half this good.