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Steve Foss
01-12-2008, 07:35 PM
Hi all:

This was one from October. A completely unexpected encounter. The wolf (a female, I believe), saw me from more than 100 yards away and still kept coming. When she was about 15 yards away and obscured by brush, she stopped, and I took three steps to my left, crouched down and made this image. While my camera was writing to the card, she turned and sauntered off.

It was an incredible gift, and likely a better happening than it is a photograph, though it has been quite popular in a short amount of time.

I think I'll select the forelegs independently and use a little shadows/highlights on them next time.

The white specks on the face are seed pods. Even at 680 pixels across, I had to knock this down to 60 percent quality using "save for Web" in CS2 to meet forum image file guidelines, to I can't promise the quality will be as good as it should. This is a slight crop.

Canon 30D, 100-400L IS at 260mm, iso400, 1/100 at f7.1, handheld

D. Robert Franz
01-13-2008, 10:25 AM
The head of the wolf forms a triangle which is a very strong graphic element in art. It's important in this image since it's powerful enough to draw the eyes to the wolf instead of all the competing BG elements. Nice soft light a colors as well in this image. I agree with you about lightening the leg up a bit in PP. A great encounter it must have been. Well done.....

Jim Caldwell
01-13-2008, 10:55 AM
Wow Steve, what a wonderful story and encounter. This image works for me mainly because the eyes of the wolf are looking right at the observer. I'm assuming it was overcast which really sets off that dark fur nicely.

Steve Foss
01-13-2008, 12:02 PM
Thanks to both of you. It was light overcast, so there was some directional light coming from the right in the frame, though it was muted.

Mike Lentz
01-13-2008, 12:16 PM
I remember this shot and my first thought was what a nice colorful BG for this image to be set in!

Jasper Doest
01-14-2008, 06:19 AM
What an amazing experience this had to be.....I like the fact that it is photographed in a very colourful environment, that certainly adds to the photograph. Well done capturing this beauty! I agree with the exposure on the legs, but that's a minor issue for me.

Chris van Rooyen
01-14-2008, 03:36 PM
A superb record of a once in a life-time encounter. The black animal is very dramatic!