Taken at Kirkman's in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa. The dogs were denning on the property and they were trying to acclimate them to the vehicles so we were fortunate to spend a fair amount of time at the den site. However, we had to keep our distance and it made shooting a little difficult because the actual den was through some foliage which is across a lot of the images and of course, they tended to come out of the den in the very late afternoon as the light was waning. Still a fantastic sighting and a privilege to spend time with such young puppies.
Canon 5DIII
300 II plus 2x III
1/250
f5/6
ISO 3200
Monopod from safari vehicle, cropped to vertical, levels, curves, selective color, sharpened in CCPS.
C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,
Rachel
03-03-2015, 11:26 AM
Gabriela Plesea
Hello Rachel,
...there's no need to tell you how much I adore wild dog pups:) This is one well fed little chap and he's got some attitude!
It's great you managed to include the den, and to capture the little wild dog looking so protective over his property - that serious pose is adorable! Is there another one hidden behind the bush behind him? It looks like the tip of a tiny tail up there:)
So special, this sighting, and what a privilege to get so close! Despite the conditions - foliage and grasses, light fading, etc. - there's enough detail on the subject ( I can even see his little nails!), the POV works for me with the pup looking straight at you, the OOF FG does not bother me and I understand its inclusion because of the den. Colours are spot-on and I like the framing/presentation - just delightful, thank you Rachel for sharing this with us:5
Warmest regards,
03-03-2015, 12:23 PM
D. Robert Franz
Not everything works out perfectly in the wild. A wonderful experience I truly envy! I like the comp other than the obvious distractions that you can't do anything about without cloning.. Just wondering if you could warm the image up a tad! Like it!
03-03-2015, 12:52 PM
Sanjeev Aurangabadkar
Very nice image Rachel. I love the curious look on the pups face, the inclusion of the den & environs. I don't mind the foliage. Well done.
03-03-2015, 03:00 PM
Dumay de Boulle
I remember when they were so small. Lovely detail and pose.
Temp or sat could be increased a little. Very nice reminder of these little guys!
03-03-2015, 03:17 PM
Morkel Erasmus
Super cute, and I think you did well given the challenging location and the conditions of the sighting (good ethics to give them their space).
I agree with Dumay, it could be warmed up a little for my tastes...?
Vertical working well here, Rachel, and the foliage doesn't obstruct the view of the pup, I've yet to see them this small so I'm a tad green!
03-03-2015, 07:56 PM
Rachel Hollander
Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions, much appreciated.
03-04-2015, 06:07 AM
christopher galeski
nice image,like the comp,nice detail,agree with others on warming up a bit.TFS.
03-04-2015, 02:39 PM
Andreas Liedmann
Hi Rachel very nice frame of the little puppie . I do not mind the framing and the foliage and fading light giving a low contrast frame.
I guess even under not ideal conditions you produced a great result , i would just only push the 1/4 tones and a bit the 1/2 tones a tiny bit for more tonal depth in those areas .
he /she is looking so cute
TFS Andreas
03-04-2015, 08:05 PM
Rachel Hollander
Thanks Chris and Andreas :wave:
03-05-2015, 06:31 PM
Steve Kaluski
Hi Rachel, a cool sighting and a great privilege to witness considering they had only recently emerged from the den. A tough location to shoot in for many factors, however I think being slightly higher gave the optimum position. Like the alert look/gaze and being slightly smaller in frame, the fur was so fine it was hard to actually capture.
TFS
Steve
03-06-2015, 09:07 AM
Rachel Hollander
Thanks Steve :wave:
03-06-2015, 01:02 PM
Steve Canuel
I like the composition with the inclusion of the den. Cute little guy. Not sure how closely related to hyaenas these guys are but the head looks very hyaena like to me.
03-08-2015, 08:43 AM
Andre Pretorius
Hi Rachel
Agree with all about the cutie pie!:S3:
Personally I would take of some FG, but that is just me.
Well exposed on blacks and whites.
Will forward you e-mail re a new type monopod for Safari vehicle..
03-08-2015, 08:56 AM
Rachel Hollander
Thanks Steve and Andre. Andre -I'll keep an eye out for the email.