woodchuck portrait

[John Chardine]

I was photographing ducks yesterday near the Bay of Fundy and heard this bird-like chirp. Turned out it was this woodchuck who had seen me way before I had seen him, and was a little agitated.

Comments welcome.

40D, 500mm F4
capture date: Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:19:27 PM
EXIF version: 2.2
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 400
shutter speed: 1/1600
aperture: f8.0
exposure bias: +0.0
metering: Pattern

[Vincent Grafhorst]

A good portrait John. Not the most desirable BG however, maybe if you would have taken this from a lower angle the BG could have been more OOF or alternatively opening up the lens. The light seems a bit harsh, darkening the image a bit in PS will probably solve that and give it a more attractive look.

[Robert Amoruso]

John,

A reverse s-curve can also be used to tame contrast. He stands out pretty well from the BG but as Vincent commented getting lower would have helped.

[Van Hilliard]

The background issue has been discussed so I'll focus on the animal. I love those big rodent teeth. The image is beautifully detailed and exposed and the subtle color and catchlight of the eye really bring this to life. I think I would just do some gaussian blur on the background (on a layer and mask) and see if I could deemphasize the bg a bit.

[John Chardine]

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to play with the image now!