This black-backed jackal was trying to catch a meerkat, but as it appeared he was not sly enough...
Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Deception Valley, Botswana.
Camera Model Canon EOS 40D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
Focal Length 700.0 mm
Image Size 3888x2592
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Color Temperature(5200K)
AF Mode One-Shot AF
Drive Mode High-speed continuous shooting
Beautiful image, Vincent. Great light and I love the look of intensity on the jackal and his raised paw. I only wish for a little more room on the right for him to move into.
Great looking FG and BG with a great looking jackal. Overall a good looking image. Regarding the more room on right comments and I am not referring to Cindy's comment as that would be many person's first thought here - I think that if you crop down the sky some, the feeling of compactness, focusing on the animal only will make this image work better in that regards.
I bring this up as I am toying with a gator image that is very tight and I am sure that a common comment will be more room in front. Well I don't have more room and I won't be extending canvas. The image will be tight and I will crop more off the top and bottom to make it tight.
I think the image works well as presented as you only see the animal and there is no place to go in the image otherwise. Does that make compositional sense? :)
Beautiful shot. Wonderful sense of impending action and, as you said, "sneakiness". I think both Cindy and Robert have made valid suggestions regarding cropping but I almost hesitate to mention this because I think the photo is outstanding.
Interesting thought Rober, you mean cropped like this? Yes of course now there is relatively more space in front for the jackal to walk into, but on the other hand the entire image is even more tight now. Guess your theory works to some extend, but it cannot beat more actual room. Wish Canon would make a 200-500mm f/4 zoom...:)
An excellent image - love the blurred foreground and the clean background plus the intense look on the Jackal. After reading Robert's well-expressed comment, my thought was -"but I still want more room on the right." :) Having said that, I do like the repost a lot.