To grab or not to grab? Yes every time.

I'm well aware of my limitations but that does not deter me from still making the effort to find subjects and record them to the best of my ability. My two annual visits to Kansas provide a wealth of opportunities and countless species.

One of the most elusive mammals is the Linx rufus or the Bobcat believe me they see and hear you, but raely do you seen them. During the last twenty years visiting the USA I have never seen one. Until a week ago 18/2/10 then we saw two. A twenty year wait rewarded. I felt like a cat with two tails.

Canon 1D3 canon 800mm f/5.6 1/100sec handheld through vehicle window.

Just no alternative to HH step out and they are gone.

Critique, Comments and Advice most welcome.

Thanks for looking

Just to finish the story off here are the two Bobcats in frame a fair distance away. I'm sure you'll get the picture.

Great to see Barry.
Well done.
JR

That must have been a rush.

Two great captures, well done

Hi Barry.
Never pass on an opportunity of a grab shot.
However, prepare yourself for these happenings well in advance. In this instance your shots are about 1.5 stops underexposed, if you had you set your camera to manual and kept a frequent eye on the exposure you would have been a step ahead. Also if you were aware that you might bump into something very rare you would want to make sure that if you had the opportunity for a grab shot that you would want to have it as shake free as possible and set a high ISO to keep the shutter speed high, especially if you were wielding the 800/5.6. Relying on IS for grab shots is a waste of time as it takes almost a second to kick in, fine if you have plenty of time on your hands, but when time's short nothing beats good shutter speeds.
There are others who may say make the most of slow shutter speeds to create an impressionistic feel and keep the ISO low, but I always try to get the stock shots first, then if time and circumstance permit, I might try my hand at being Monet or Leonardo

I like the first shot, it has a lot of cropping potential and portrays the bobcat's agile nature beautifully.

All of the above might sound basic and not applicable to most on this forum, but you'd be surprised how many brilliant shots get messed up because the photographer forgot to check something basic like an exposure setting.

Great to see, I would have a hide up there in a shot, The image is under exposed but you should be able to lighten it in PS-Some good advise from John

Dave

Hi Barry

Nits covered - a rare image of a secretive mammal!

David

Thanks for the advice guy's all good stuff.

Thanks for looking and taking the trouble to comment.

Hi Barry, a very nice capture and John's advice is spot on.

it certainly was worth a grab shot and I'd say you did pretty well for 1/100 second! An impressive sight.

Matt

It for sure is a grab shot: but who wouldnt have taken an image of such a secretive mammal! Well done.
Rene de Heer