Galapagos 2010: The Yawning Iguana

[Arthur Morris]

This Marine Iguana image was created on the recent Galapagos Cruise at Punta Espinoza, Fernandina with the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS and the 1.4X II TC (handheld at 280mm) with the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/14. (I thought that the sun was brighter than it was...) The sun was strong enough to necessitate focusing manually.

Sitting contorted on the sharp lave rock in iguana poo made this a smelly, uncomfortable experience but it was well worth it :)

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Charles Glatzer]

Artie,

If this image was part of an editorial essay it would be a super addition. However, as a stand alone image I find the sil not descriptive enough to be effective.

Best Amigo,

Chas

[Ken Watkins]

Firstly I have to state that I am not a great fan of silhoeuttes. I find this quite evocative, it looks like it could have been taken millions of years ago.

[Hilary Hann]

Artie, what I really like is the fact that the background has a nice soft tone to it, sometimes they can end up too saturated and overwhelm the subject. I really like the saliva crossing the open jaws.

The trouble I have is the two dimensional feel of the image which makes it hard to make sense of the spines in the background, are they part of the iguana, or a different iguana, or a rock feature. An additional bit of rim lighting would have added to the composition, in my view, but would that still class as a silhouette? :confused:

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for sharing your thoughts. The spines in the BKGR are clearly from another iguana.

[Harshad Barve]

I tried to crop 40 pixels from right and bottom and it works for me , excellent BG here Guruji
TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Do share. Reposts are always appreciated :)

[Harshad Barve]

here we go

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks. I like the idea of taking a bit off the bottom (but not the right--too tight there).

[Alfred Forns]

Like the original but prefer not having the second iguana, seems to take away from main subject !! Excellent sharpness on the edges and like the colors a lot !!!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Alfred, I would have liked it better without the 2nd one but... I nearly killed my butt getting into position for this one. There was nothing else in reach.

Have you guys been away?

[Alfred Forns]

... Chasing moose on a canoe :cool: lots of moose in Main !!! On the way home, at Detroit now and hope to be home by might night Artie.

[Arthur Morris]

Travel safely. How did you get to Detroit from Maine?

[Alfred Forns]

.. there is a direct flight Artie and its not even a prop plane :) direct to Bangor !!!

[Arthur Morris]

Miami to Detroit to Bangor?

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I like the colours and the yawn increases the impact. I agree about the presence of the iguana at the back. However, this is a nice image and I like it. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi