Eyes like mirror

[Andreas Liedmann]

hi folks so one like me must love this kind of shot :2eyes2: maybe others like you folks , too !
Image of this Harbor Seal subadult was taken at Donna Nook beach in 2010 , had mostly great weather during my stay .Not very often to spot a Harbor Seal between all those Grey Seals at that location .
If you look closely to the left eye as viewed you will see the" better behaving" photographer in the right corner ....... me and you can see two other folks standing upright in the left corner of the eye , never a good idea to stand upright close to the seals . But useless sometimes to talk to colleagues :bugeyed:.

I went down and used the lend fantastic 800 glass from mr Canon germany to get the real tight shots .
With hindsight i would've chosen other settings for sure ..
But i am happy with the output by the given techs at low res file .

Canon EOS 1D MK IV
EF 800 IS L
Tripod and Fluid head

F 8 ; Iso 1600 ; 1/200 sec :eek3: , very very borderline this SS for this REALLY big glass .

Processed with DPP 4 and PS CC , cropped and leveled to 70 % of FF .

Thanks for looking and commenting to my last posting

Cheers Andreas

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Gorgeous close up Andreas, almost a macro shot with tremendous detail and sharpness despite the low SS! Love those grains of sand on the whiskers and the eye with horizon showing! TFS! Nice low angle too!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - lots to look at and absorb here - the reflection in the eye, the reflection in the water just below the seal, the translucent whiskers, the grains of sand on the face and the other great details. This ticks all the boxes for me. Well done :cheers:.

TFS,
Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Hi Andreas -- What lovely image you got here !! i agree with above comments and really curious to know what is that in RHS corner in the BG ? is that a part of seal ? TFS !

[Morkel Erasmus]

This is one of the best seal photos you've posted, mein herr.
Light, angle, details, attention-grabbing, and great image quality!
:5

[Steve Kaluski]

Cool image Herr Leidmann, the eye as you quite rightly pointed out illustrates why I don't go here, I would probably have club someone and not the seal, Gabriela they behave like Mr Caravan!!!

Love the light and I think the DoF was just on the limit, pulling back a little to gain a fraction more FG might have helped, or is that too critical :S3:????

The frame filler works, well done :cheers:.

TFS
Steve

[Marc Mol]

Given the focal length and S/S this is very nice indeed Andreas with the reflections in the eye a nice bonus, the image quality is really evident in the fine sand in the whiskers and face, very well done.:cheers:

What are your impressions overall of the 800, I take it you didn't want to hand it back :w3

TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

Andreas it's an absolute gem, the detail is sublime!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Ooooo Boetie, this is so, so good, even at 1/200s:w3. Whew, I never go so low, although I admit it does happen from time to time... Besides, I have not many opportunities to shoot wildlife using a tripod as you know, always take it along but when my beloved subjects sniffle around the camp I tend to climb into the tent or vehicle, for better "stability" and "control of the situation":)

Andreas, lovely detail and the colours are superb, beautiful light. Those whiskers look as if they were made of glass, and every grain of sand on the seal's face is visible. Let's not forget those beautiful "mirrors", the eyes. The critical elements are tack sharp, and I do not feel a need for more DOF here - it all works so well. Even the OOF flipper makes sense. I like everything about this - what a pleasure to view, congratulations Boet!

PS I can imagine your frustration with the other photographers, not much you could do about it and glad you kept your cool:)

Warmest regards,

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks so much to all of you :wave: for your very kind comments , much appreciated .

Haseeb that " blob" on RHS is the left front flipper of the Seal .

Steve - is Harbor or Harbour Seal correct ? i guess one is english the other one is american right ? I am with you regarding the DOF , mr Eagle eye :w3 , but you are too critical !!!!!!! :c3: specially be careful with my images , LOL ! You will get my return ...... serve and volley :wave:.
Regarding Donna , well i wanted to go again this year , but as they do strictly control and close the beach at that special time i will skip that , instead i am thinking to visit Horsey shortly before the pupping season starts and they close off the beach there too . But this is not fixed yet and if i go , i will go with my truck and visit you as a surprise as i found out where you are staying ..... so be careful by the end of the month .
Back to the DOF i actually had to play a bit of tricks with the front of the snout ... some extra kick/sharpening was required for more sharper detail.

Thanks again for watching and commenting , cheers Andreas

[Marc Mol]

Interested in your opinion on the 800 Andreas, I gather you didn't want to return it??

[Andreas Liedmann]

Oops sorry Marc i forgot to answer your question .
Well the lens is great if handled well :S3: , not as i did mostly with too slow SS :w3.
The IQ is stunning for that " old" piece of glass , but when it comes to handling ............ way too big and heavy , i would prefer the new 600 MK II as it is way lighter and even hand holdable .
But at that time ( 2010) i would have bought one if had the chance to get a good used one . Other problem would be how to travel with this long thing ......... ??? specially going overseas ???

But there are rumors that Mr Canon is making a lighter version II , maybe a DO version like the F4 / 400 DO IS , but for now i am more than happy with my two big glasses ( 200-400 and 500 MK II )

If i would get the chance again , to get it for a week for a special project , i would take it with me , for sure. But only when i can go with my car .

Hope this helps , Marc

Cheers andreas

[Marc Mol]

Oops sorry Marc i forgot to answer your question .
Well the lens is great if handled well :S3: , not as i did mostly with too slow SS :w3.
The IQ is stunning for that " old" piece of glass , but when it comes to handling ............ way too big and heavy , i would prefer the new 600 MK II as it is way lighter and even hand holdable .
But at that time ( 2010) i would have bought one if had the chance to get a good used one . Other problem would be how to travel with this long thing ......... ??? specially going overseas ???

But there are rumors that Mr Canon is making a lighter version II , maybe a DO version like the F4 / 400 DO IS , but for now i am more than happy with my two big glasses ( 200-400 and 500 MK II )

If i would get the chance again , to get it for a week for a special project , i would take it with me , for sure. But only when i can go with my car .

Hope this helps , Marc

Cheers andreas

Ah...........I see, I had assumed this was perhaps a new light weight version, similar to Nikon's brilliant but MEGA expensive 800 FL. :Whoa!:

I'm sure Canon's new 800 won't be far away.

I have just purchased the new 400/2.8E FL Nikkor and really impressed how well it balances and is even hand holdable for short periods, even a tad lighter than my older 500/4 VR.

"Touch wood"...............I've never had a problem with carrying my 17kg+ bag onboard any aircraft. Sorry, I stand corrected, I had to pay an excess just once @ Wilson, Nairobi a few years back.

Thanks for mini review.:w3

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Buthi

Sorry I am late.....
The light was your friend here- As Tony Heald (not sure of spelling) told me 20 years ago when we still shooting Velvia- "There are 3 secrets to Wildlife Photography- light, light and light.."
Well done here, I have no crits, only sympathy for you to deal with your " colleagues".
:cheers::5

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Andre , much appreciate your time to view and type a comment .
Agree with your Tony , but i think this does not only count in WF photography as for every photograph we need that light :wave:.

Thanks again ; Andreas