Arf....

[Arthur Morris]

This barking Antarctic Fur Seal was photographed at Fortuna Bay, South Georgia Island with the 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, the 2X III TC, and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/320 sec. at f/11. For lots more on the trip see the blog (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/) and BAA Bulletin #395 (http://www.birdsasart.com/2012/01/29/birds-as-art-bulletin-395/). Don't be shy; all honest comments are welcome.

[dankearl]

Arthur, your photo is not showing up.

[Arthur Morris]

Arthur, your photo is not showing up.

Thanks Dan. Forgot to attach. Again :S3:.

[dankearl]

Awesome, what a view!

[Tom Rambaut]

For a moment I thought I was looking into a mirror. Geat detail in the fur but this guy needs some dental work.

[v.p.nurdeen]

Hi Arthur,
superb image great IQ.
VPN

[Robert Amoruso]

f/11 perfect choice to get the DOF required here.

[Tom Graham]

Pretty. F11 huh? F5.6 seems to be the standard here in Wildlife :S3: . Anyway FWIW, f11 gives you 2 times the DOF of f5.6.
(I'm an "f8 and be there" kind of guy myself :S3: ).
Tom

[Steve Kaluski]

Like the expression Artie, but it's the almost 'graphic' look of the wet fur that grabs me, an almost plumage feel.

I would be interested to know where you placed the focus point(s) in an image like this. As you quite often cannot judge these moments placing the FP is key, as much as the right choice of DOF. Locking onto one of the eyes, the tip of the nose, or on the back of the throat? I might have gone for the throat, however always eager to learn more, perhaps things are more lightly to drift if placed on the nose?

TFS
Steve

[gail bisson]

I like this one the best so far Artie. Great pick for aperture. I like the tight composition and the open mouth. I love the fur- how it clumps in triangular shapes and almost looks like feathers,
Gail

[Hilary Hann]

I agree with the others regarding the wet fur, makes for great texture. Interesting expression and lovely IQ and I love those great big eyes.

[Rachel Hollander]

Artie - great detail and dof. I too like the way the fur looks almost like feathers in its pattern. I'm surprised we can't see your reflection in the eyes.

TFS,
Rachel

[Arthur Morris]

Artie - great detail and dof. I too like the way the fur looks almost like feathers in its pattern. I'm surprised we can't see your reflection in the eyes. TFS, Rachel

Thanks Rache and YAW. I am there but the eyes are so dark that I am hard to discern.

[Pieter de Waal]

Superb IQ and use of DOF Arthur, I also like the texture of the fur captured here. I am also interested in the placing of the focus point as mentioned by Steve.

[Brendan Dozier]

Great expression captured, Artie, and excellent IQ. Love the open mouth and texture of wet fur. TFS!

[Arthur Morris]

Like the expression Artie, but it's the almost 'graphic' look of the wet fur that grabs me, an almost plumage feel. I would be interested to know where you placed the focus point(s) in an image like this. As you quite often cannot judge these moments placing the FP is key, as much as the right choice of DOF. Locking onto one of the eyes, the tip of the nose, or on the back of the throat? I might have gone for the throat, however always eager to learn more, perhaps things are more lightly to drift if placed on the nose? TFS Steve

Thanks to Pieter for asking again about the focus points. I almost missed your question. Show Focus Points shows nothing. That means that it was central sensor rear focus and recompose. I was walking along with my rig on my shoulder--I took very few seal images this trip--when this one was right in front of me yawing. I got the tripod on the ground, focused--more on that in a second--and made three images. I honestly cannot remember if I focused on the eye and recomposed or focused inside the mouth and recomposed. AF was not active at the moment of exposure (else the active points would have showed when I looked at the RAW in BreezeBrowser). Once I focused and let go, I went with it as the animal was pretty much static.

I too love the look of the fur in this one.

[Steve Kaluski]

Cheers Artie, moments like this you sometimes have to, 'shoot from the hip' and go with instinct and gut reaction :bg3: hope that makes sense.

Cheers
Steve

[Arthur Morris]

You are right. That is pretty much what I was thinking at the time. Many folks do not realize that in situations like this you have maybe two seconds, three at the very most, to get your act together and make images. And in that time you need to determine exposure, AF sensor choice and method and image design. That is one of the things that I most love about wildlife photography!

[Sid Garige]

Fantastic image Artie. Great action and perfect composition. Perfect techs and DOF for end-to-end sharpness and details. Excellent image.

[Pieter de Waal]

Thank you for coming back Arthur, and agree with you wholeheartedly about the challenges and excitement of wildlife photography.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely portrait with lovely texture. The mouth open adds massively (I can almost hear it) Very nice image arthur and thanks for sharing!

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love it! Looks like he's belting out a rendtition of "Nessun Dorma" - though I'm sure it sounded far from it :w3

[Harshad Barve]

Terrific capture with great details
TFS