Badger on the Move

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 26, 2015175 views7 comments

Hi everyone! I took this picture in Waterton Lakes National Park on a rainy day this autumn. My dad and I spotted this badger moving very quickly down a slope. We weren't sure why he was in such a hurry, but he went a long way down into the valley. He mostly stuck to the forest so my dad and I had almost no chance of photographing him. We moved further down the valley and I got lucky when I spotted him look out of all the brush for a second! His face has a lot of dirt on it in case you wondered why his fur looked funny in places.

He disappeared further into the trees and we never saw him again.

My mom and dad and I went back to where we had first seen him and figured out he had gone over 2km just during the time we saw him! I guess he wanted to move to a new place to live!

Nikon D7100
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED with 1.4x TC
ISO 640
1/640sec @ f/7.1
-0.3 EV
Handheld
Full Frame

Processing Notes from Dad:
Pretty much straight from RAW to PS CS5 for conversion to B&W using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, selective sharpening. We chose B&W because the greens were simply too overpowering and the mix of brown stalks/twigs took away from the wonderful look this badger gave Josiah. Also because I love B&W images of wildlife, and appear to have passed that on to my son!

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 26, 2015 at 9:08 PM

Josiah, I like the technique in this very much where a small scene is bounded by out of focus "stuff". I realize that only a moment was available for capture. My only regret is that both eyes weren't fully seen. The good news is, you will someday see one where you get an even better capture, because time is on your side!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on January 27, 2015 at 12:40 AM

Well, you were lucky to keep up with it over that distance. Good thing it was headed down and not up. I like this shot. It shows a normally shy animal giving you a pretty good look. The surrounded by veg look is part of his persona. Like Phil, I wish both eyes had been open but you got what he gave you. If that other eye had been open, I would have liked it to not be partially hidden by the brush. So guess this will have to do. I know you'll get another chance at one. This is a good start to you badger folder. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 27, 2015 at 2:47 AM

Hey, Josiah! I am SOOOO jealous you got this! Man, I was right there with you and totally missed this 1/4sec photo opp the badger gave you, but somehow you pulled it off!

I do not know how you managed to focus so quickly and perfectly on your subject through all that vegetation and debris, but nicely done!

You already know I am in love with this image. I personally find your composition and the unique character of the image extremely interesting and appealing. I actually like the partially obscured eye in this instance, even though if given the option I probably would automatically choose to have both eyes unobscured. This ends up being such an accurate portrayal of this normally elusive species.

For sure there's a bit of a natural desire to clean the image up a little by removing a few distracting twigs, but in the end I like it just as you captured it as presented here.

I know this isn't an image that everyone will love, but for some of us, it definitely speaks! (I'm just not sure how many "some of us" are.)

Either way, it's one of my personal all-time favourites of yours!

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 27, 2015 at 9:27 PM

Joshiah, you did good to get him in focus with all the obtrusive vegetation competing to grab your camera's auto-focus! Being able to see that eye is very important.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Kane on January 30, 2015 at 10:47 PM

I love badgers so much Josiah - really cool that you were able to get him in focus with only a split-second and through all those grasses. I find myself wishing for a touch more space at the bottom, but understand why it's not there on this one.

One of the coolest things is that, when looking quickly, it seems as if his left eye is closed and then, looking closer it turns out to be partially obscured by the grasses and it's wide open and in focus too. It's a sort of optical illusion, like he's winking at the viewer. Love it

Registered on August 4, 2012, 66 Posts, 726 Comments

Comment posted by Josiah Launstein on February 9, 2015 at 2:05 AM

Thank you everyone for commenting on my picture I wish I got the other eye as well.

Registered on January 26, 2013, 52 Posts, 126 Comments

Comment posted by Ashleigh Scully on February 9, 2015 at 5:04 PM

Hi! This photo reminds me of a great gray owl and a red fox that I photographed that only showed one eye too. I really like one eye showing sometimes especially this one because this is how you would expect to see this animal in the bushes peeking out. I like the black and white also. You are doing so great and congratulations on your award thats awesome! Say hi to Jenaya and to your Dad for us. Bye, Ashleigh

Registered on November 4, 2013, 36 Posts, 210 Comments