Marking its territory - Dik Dik

[RakeshDhareshwar]

One of the my most favourite deer / antelope I saw on the trip . This is the second smallest species in the world . The name is as cute ....Dik Dik . Here it is marking its territory with its eye on the grass blade . Wish the twigs weren't there in the BG , but then they were and I did not wanna miss the action .

Camera : Canon 1D Mk III
Lens : Canon 600 mm
Apeture : f 5.6
Shutters : 1/320
Speed : ISO 1250

Cheers,
Rakesh

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rakesh, these are very shy animals, so congrats on get this image and in the open too, a classic behavioural characteristic of this animal. Personally I would remove the 'twigs' in the BKG and very easy to do, as I do feel they draw away from that key moment. I might also reduce the Blue just in the hindquaters with a layer mask.

TFS
Steve

[Lorant Voros]

Apart from the twigs it looks great to me. Indeed amazing that you caught this shy animal in the open and like the moment of marking the territory. Well done.

Lorant

[Dumay de Boulle]

This is lovely...One of the best of this species I have seen. The gland below the eye is called a Pre-Orbital gland which they use to leave there scent.

[Rachel Hollander]

Nice capture out in the open. Agree about the blue tint and your self-critique about the twigs.

TFS,
Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Rakesh, you have done extremely well with this image. Would be inclined to remove the background twigs but an overall very nice image showing the behaviour of these antelopes.

[Marina Scarr]

Wonderful behavior photograph and love learning about this species.

[Tommy Rodgers]

You gotta be kidding me! Scent gland near the eye. The book says I am suppose to learn something new everyday. Looks like I am set for today. Thanks Daumay for the lesson. I have images of this species but only surround by thick underbrush. Great capture out in the open and of him doing his thing. I would clean up the background a bit and possibly just a bit more contrast if it works. Thanks for sharing.

[Robert Amoruso]

Rakesh,

I am sure that getting an image like this in the open in nice light is none to easy and you did it well. The image would be improved if the head angle was not away from you and the tall grass blade was not at the eye. The two tall OOF branches in the BG are very distracting.

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent capture RD ,
TFS

[Morkel Erasmus]

Stunning shot Rakesh! You'd think the little guy would look for something a bit more sturdy than a blade of grass to leave a lasting reminder of its presence :bg3:.
I find that there's a hint of magenta on the antelope...easy to correct!