Cape Fox Kit

[Morkel Erasmus]

I hope everyone had a great Christmas weekend!! We were having some family time so my visits to the forum were brief and limited :t3.

It took me a few trips to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to get a den site close enough to the road, and even then it started to rain so I had about 3 minutes to take a few photos of this cute little guy before he ducked underground for cover.

I realise some won't like the shallow DOF and truth be told I could probably have gone to f5.6 or f8 for more, but I like portraits with very shallow DOF :w3

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0 @ 1/500 SS @ ISO-640

[gail bisson]

Hi Morkel,
I am firmly in the camp that would like more DOF! I do love the color tones in this image and this little guy is awfully cute so you get bonus points for that!! Good choice of composition and I like the curled tail,
Gail

[Hilary Hann]

Would love to see these guys one day. If you are brave enough to photograph something as elusive as this with such a small dof, then I say "well done" for at least getting the focus in the right plane. :w3

I like the colour tones and soft background but not so keen on the sharp oof drop off in the foreground which, I imagine is from the ridge of earth nearer the road. Not much to do with that but the sharp edge seems like a contradiction against the general softness.

Definitely a keeper for me! :S3:

[D. Robert Franz]

I remember getting some image of these guys last time I was there. DOF looks fine. This is a great little portrait. Very cute pup.. Worth the trip fo sure

[dankearl]

I agree that a bit more DOF would be nice but the face is sharp as can be.
A cute little guy.

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - it has a high cuteness factor and I like the colors and comp. The dof does not bother me.

TFS,
Rachel

[v.p.nurdeen]

Hi Morkel,
Sweet image lovely colors and nice compo.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, like the colour & pose, but guess I am the one who would like a little more DOF. :bg3: Cute little guy, looks happy to pose and has given his best profile too. :S3:

Would like to have seen it bigger, 800px, is this a crop?

TFS
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi Morkel, like the colour & pose, but guess I am the one who would like a little more DOF. Cute little guy, looks happy to pose and has given his best profile too.

Would like to have seen it bigger, 800px, is this a crop?

TFS
Steve

Hey Steve...

I know you well enough to name you directly in a rant :w3:bg3:, so no I wasn't specifically thinking of anyone...

This is pretty much all of full frame. I don't like posting my "portrait"-orientation shots at higher than 800px because that causes most folks to have to scroll to get a glimpse of the whole image, as opposed to 1024 wide which displays fine in most browsers. :e3

[Steve Kaluski]

LOL Morkel :bg3::bg3: thanks for the info.

BTW, you asked a question and the answer is Wacom.

cheers
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks :5

[Gregor Bergquist]

Hi Morkel

I really like this one. In my book a perfect portrait of that little guy. Clean, sharp, good light etc.

I think you had a nice trip to Kgalagadi. Seems like a good place to go to. How is it there in november?

/Gregor

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely textures and IQ.. The DOF doesn't bug me. The Colors look spot on!

[Tom Redd]

I am fine with the DOF, it is sharp where it should be and guides the viewer to the subjects face. Nice BG and great eyes. TFS

[Harshad Barve]

Terrific image Morkelbhai , one of my new fav from you
TFS


but I like portraits with very shallow DOF :w3



Thats the way to go , cheers :cheers:

[Steve Canuel]

A real beauty Morkel. Nice soft colors and look but sharp right there in the face. Nicely done.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks a bunch for the kind comments, my friends...:bg3:



I think you had a nice trip to Kgalagadi. Seems like a good place to go to. How is it there in november?


Gregor, November is a great time to go (and yes we had a great trip!). The grass gets quite high after the rainy season (December to March) and takes the entire winter to wither away and break off. By November the animals are prone to visit the waterholes more often and the landscape is quite "open/barren" which makes for excellent photographic opportunities. The temperatures are high, though, but not as high as in Dec/Jan. Daytime peaks are often well above 40 degrees celcius, with nighttime cooling down to about 10 degrees Celcius. If you are not used to such temperatures, August/September is a good time to go when daytime reaches about 30C and nighttime 0-5C. :Whoa!:

[Gregor Bergquist]

Hi Morkel

Thank you for that info. I´m very tempted to go there this fall, and preferably in November. Though 40 degrees celcius is very hot. hmm..