Alligator Portrait

Gallery: WildlifePosted August 4, 20184,183 views6 comments

I shot this yesterday in the MS portion of Gulf Islands National Seashore, which is made up primarily of the barrier islands in the FL panhandle and southeast MS. The part in Mississippi includes easy access from US-90 in Ocean Springs, which includes nice campgrounds, picnic areas, a boat launch, a few "Katrina cottages" near the launch, and a very nice visitor center overlooking the marshes.

This guy, about 8-10 feet long, was next to a bridge. This could almost be considered man and fauna, as it lies quite still likely waiting for handouts, but otherwise it's wild. You can see the green aquatic growth, suggesting its sedentary lifestyle. It's also easy pickings for portraiture and it offers a nice view for visitors (I NEVER feed the wildlife). I liked the details of the submerged parts of the snout and the tannin stained but otherwise clear brackish water. The elliptical pooling is from various attending minnows. Full frame with a bit of added canvas using content aware crop at bottom and LHS, also I did a bit of dodging of the dry portion of the head and cloned some tiny bits on the water's surface.

7D Mk II, 100-400 II @200 on Wimberley I, ISO 400 1/400 f6.3 -1/3EV

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on August 5, 2018 at 7:54 AM

Hi Bill,

Mr. gator looks good. Lots of colors in the frame. The stark highlights on the head are difficult to control without a polarizing filter. Well done....................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on August 5, 2018 at 3:52 PM

Thanks for the comment. Shame on me for leaving the CPL at home. I also had concerns about the glare, but I realized it was largely because of some sort of chalky white condition of the hide when I noticed the same texture on the submerged parts. I expect the polarized version would have lost too much of the water's glare which I find appealing, but guess I could have done a blend of two frames with and without. Thanks again.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 6, 2018 at 7:53 PM

Looks skinnier than the 'gators I see around here. Good job of processing.

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

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on August 7, 2018 at 10:41 AM

Bill: I really like the overhead perspective and diagonal formed by the subject. There is a unique contrast seen in the gold tones seen in the submerged portion which contrasts very well with the silver tones of the dry portion of the gator. The concentric rings are a bonus. It's a wall hanger. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on August 7, 2018 at 7:26 PM

Interesting perspective and colors. The gator almost looks metallic. I was surprised by your report of size; there's nothing in the photo to suggest that big an animal.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 7, 2018 at 11:00 PM

The golden tones are really interesting and complement that dark greenish water well.

To be honest, any added canvas at bottom doesn't do much for me. I'd feel different if there was another set of those cool ripples there, but it's just textureless empty space, as opposed to the rest of the surrounding water above and right, so adding more blank canvas doesn't necessarily improve the image to me. Plus, the strength of the photo lies in the color and texture of the gator, so I think a tighter frame from bottom would only enhance it in that regard.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments