Posted by Danny Green on April 12, 2009 at 6:23 AM
I have been working on these lately at a large warren and have been trying to increase my coverage on this beautiful mammal. They are not easy to do and you are best watching from a distance and finding the favourite burrow of the young ones. At first you will disturb them but by lying down and perfectly still they will soon appear above ground.
BTW, If you where lying down... who was standing up? or what was breaking the horizon behind you?
Posted by Brian Davis on April 12, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Just when I thought I was getting somewhere near with my rabbit attempts, you and John produce pics that leave me crying, This is particularly beautiful well done Danny.
A lovely shot this. Saw a small group his couple of days ago but unfortunately not enough light, bah!
Posted by Anthony House on April 12, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Look better with a Buzzard on top of it....
Only kidding, nice work mate...
Posted by Brett Lewis on April 12, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Nice work Danny, I think Easter may have gone to your head..! Very 'cute' and up to your usual very high standard.
Brett
Posted by Vincent Jones on April 12, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Amazing shot Danny, I hope you ain't going to bring this little fella with you on your next trip, are you
We have 4 of these running riot around the Hawk & EAgle Owl aviaries day & night, driving our birds nuts & they know it lol
Posted by Major Gilbert on April 12, 2009 at 4:04 PM
I am gong to be different on this one Danny.
The idea is right but the OOF effect doesnt quite work for me as the lower half of the head is also OOF. I also think you have over done it with the sharpening just a bit. Only my thoughts.
Posted by Dawn Monrose on April 13, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Lovely shot Danny.
I just wondered if you could say how you acheive this effect please? Although I like the shot, the more I look, then more unnatural it seems. Even at your widest aperture I would expect to see some sharpness to some of the surrounding vegetation - a least a few blades of grass must be in the same plane of focus as the rabbits eye.
Is it a case of the rabbit being in exactly the right place with no vegetation in the same plane, or do you take a shot at the widest aperture then blur any sharper vegetation in post processing?
I guess you probably don't want to give your secrets away, but it would be interesting to know!
Nice details especially the eye & ears but the mouth area is soft & the green mist effect does not look right though that is more a personal taste.
Lee
Posted by Danny Green on April 14, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Hello Dawn
Thanks for your question its no secret really but a young rabbit of this age is very small so I was very near to the minimal focus range with the 500mm and add the 1.4x converter on and the focus range is only down to a few cenitmetres at the widest apperture. I like to get down low when photographing wildlife its just my style I guess, its not to everyones cup of tea but I like it and I only really shoot for myself and what I like and I seem to do quite well by using this approach. On this occaision the young rabbit was just coming out of its burrow and rabbits tend to eat all the surrounding vegetation near the burrow entrance so you won't get any grass that would be in focus. At first I could only just see the top of his ears so had to raise my height to get a clearer view, hence the reflection in his eye. This second picture shows him just move a couple of inches and the diffence in pictures is amazing even when it is only a couple of inches. The trick is to have enough foreground vegetation in the right place in front of your subject I find it works so much better. If you look back at some of my images posted on the forum Dawn you will see that I nearly always shoot wide open with the converter attached, I know people (Phil H) pick-up on my depth of field alot but I would always go for a cleaner background and just make sure the eye is razor sharp. Hope that helps.
Danny
Posted by Peter Cairns on April 14, 2009 at 1:38 PM
Danny
For what it's worth, I much prefer the first image. There's far too much in focus in the second!! Much less intimate.
Pete
Posted by Dawn Monrose on April 14, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Hi Danny,
Thanks for your reply, I see now. I wish I could shoot wide open with my 500mm lens, it's pretty old, I end up with nothin in focus at all. I'm saving up for a new one!
I have to disagree with Pete though - I like the second one. It's still intimate, plus with just a little grass nearly in focus, you get a sense of habitat. I guess it all really depends on the final use!
Discussion
19 repliesCanon 1DS MK11, 500mm lens, 1.4x Converter, F5.6, 1/80, ISO 200
Danny
Very, very nice indeed.
Don't look so nice in my lettuce plot though !
Cheers
JohnR
Dave
BTW, If you where lying down... who was standing up? or what was breaking the horizon behind you?
Only kidding, nice work mate...
Brett
We have 4 of these running riot around the Hawk & EAgle Owl aviaries day & night, driving our birds nuts & they know it lol
The idea is right but the OOF effect doesnt quite work for me as the lower half of the head is also OOF. I also think you have over done it with the sharpening just a bit. Only my thoughts.
Major.
I just wondered if you could say how you acheive this effect please? Although I like the shot, the more I look, then more unnatural it seems. Even at your widest aperture I would expect to see some sharpness to some of the surrounding vegetation - a least a few blades of grass must be in the same plane of focus as the rabbits eye.
Is it a case of the rabbit being in exactly the right place with no vegetation in the same plane, or do you take a shot at the widest aperture then blur any sharper vegetation in post processing?
I guess you probably don't want to give your secrets away, but it would be interesting to know!
Thanks,
Dawn.
Lee
Thanks for your question its no secret really but a young rabbit of this age is very small so I was very near to the minimal focus range with the 500mm and add the 1.4x converter on and the focus range is only down to a few cenitmetres at the widest apperture. I like to get down low when photographing wildlife its just my style I guess, its not to everyones cup of tea but I like it and I only really shoot for myself and what I like and I seem to do quite well by using this approach. On this occaision the young rabbit was just coming out of its burrow and rabbits tend to eat all the surrounding vegetation near the burrow entrance so you won't get any grass that would be in focus. At first I could only just see the top of his ears so had to raise my height to get a clearer view, hence the reflection in his eye. This second picture shows him just move a couple of inches and the diffence in pictures is amazing even when it is only a couple of inches. The trick is to have enough foreground vegetation in the right place in front of your subject I find it works so much better. If you look back at some of my images posted on the forum Dawn you will see that I nearly always shoot wide open with the converter attached, I know people (Phil H)
Danny
For what it's worth, I much prefer the first image. There's far too much in focus in the second!! Much less intimate.
Pete
Thanks for your reply, I see now. I wish I could shoot wide open with my 500mm lens, it's pretty old, I end up with nothin in focus at all. I'm saving up for a new one!
I have to disagree with Pete though - I like the second one. It's still intimate, plus with just a little grass nearly in focus, you get a sense of habitat. I guess it all really depends on the final use!
Thanks!
Lee