Charging

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This is from Bandipur Tiger Reserve, India.

The elephant was rubbing its back on a tree when we reached the scene. It immediately charged. I picked up my backup 1D Mark II and clicked. It stopped quiet close to the vehicle and then watched us for sometime before turning back and venting its frustration on a tree.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 300mm F4 L IS USM, ISO 200, f4, 1/320, full frame image.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ken Watkins]

Sabyasachi,

Who was it that told me Indian elephants are generally placid?

This would have been far better with all of the head in frame, but how many lenses can you carry?

[Harshad Barve]

wow , Elephant is one animal I am scared of most , they are huge and they run fast
Lovely image here , real story teller
TFS

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ken,
My 400mm f2.8 Is was mated to my 1D Mark IV. The 1D Mark II had the 300 f4 IS. I had a 24-70 f2.8 L and a 24-105 f4 L IS with me however, there was really no time to change. It still came close to me and was just a few feet away. Will post a few others later.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Alfred Forns]

Sweet and what an experience You did come up with a mighty fine image !! I know you don't like cropping but would take a little of the top so it does not look clipped !! btw this image illustrates the versatility of having a 100-400 :)

[Ken Watkins]

Sabyasachi,
Choosing the right lens when you have two bodies is not always easy, I bought the 28-300mm purely because of the frustation of missing Elephant shots.

[Steve Kaluski]

but how many lenses can you carry?

Ken, this keeps going back to my point that Canon need to bring out a 200-400 f/2.8. Sabyasachi, all said above, have all in would have been superb.

TFS
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

This image really tells a story and despite some of the problems associated with the long lens, I really like it. And the eye is clearly seen which is something I find quite hard to achieve even with still, quiet elephants.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ken, this keeps going back to my point that Canon need to bring out a 200-400 f/2.8. Sabyasachi, all said above, have all in would have been superb.

TFS
Steve

Steve,
That lens would be awesome. And since these days I am also recording HD film footage with the Mark IV, such a quality zoom lens would be very useful in capturing different perspectives.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Morkel Erasmus]

really intense Sabya...agree with Al on cropping some to make it more appealing. blurred trunk adds to the intensity

I think it will be really interesting to see what Canon does when upgrading the 100-400, as I do find this lens to be in a great focal range. When I used the Nikon 200-400 I found that 200 was often still a bit too much for close sightings of larger animals.