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Thread: Inquisitive Hyena Cub

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Default Inquisitive Hyena Cub

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    This inquisitive cub approached our vehicle at the den site in the Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa.

    Canon 5D3
    300 II
    1/250
    f5.6
    ISO 1600
    HH from safari vehicle, slight crop for comp, levels, curves, converted in Silver Efex, sharpened in CCPS.

    C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

    Rachel

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, Ive had first hand experience of this behaviour too - its amazing how they will just approach the game vehicle with no worries at all. Good eye contact, and love the grass sticking out the mouth. I do like the detail on the face, and sharp where it counts.

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    There are those eye popping 'eyes'. Great detail and it framing works well. Love that stare. WD very nice portrait, Rachel.

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    Hi Rachel, great details for a close up shot. Love those innocent eyes. I feel the image could benefit from being cropped tighter, may be you want to try the square crop. Loi

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel , very nice and so cute shiny eyes . Those eyes are making this for me .
    Good conversion and great tonality keeping the focus on the head .Very nice smooth BKG , Carl you need this for your Lion BW . The grass stem is a bonus adding a bit of interest .

    But the crop does not grab me . Too centered for my taste and a bit tight around the ears , tip of the hairs are clipped , sadly .Maybe you have a bit more on the sides . And i would go for either square or 4x5 , just my 2 cents.

    Again i like the conversion.

    TFS Andreas

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Stu, Carl, Loi and Andreas for the comment and suggestions. I'll take a look at the crop but I tend to avoid square crops.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Agreeing with everyone - those shiney eyes are enough to soften the hardest human heart! They always seem to be chowing on something, don't they? Beautiful!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Cute, sharp, and a nice perspective. Is the longest piece of grass in its mouth or just the shortest piece? IAC I would surely evict the short piece of grass on the bottom frame edge.
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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel,

    very nice portrait of this curious little one. I like the conversion very much. Details and all great as usual :)

    Have a great day

    Ciao Anette

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Tobie, Artie and Anette, much appreciated. Anette - Welcome back, you were missed!

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Thanks a lot Rachel

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Oh Rachel, those eyes! Yep,they get bigger and shinier and meaner as the cubs grow into adults, but who can resist this wonderful innocent look? I certainly can not even after my experience with hyenas at Rooiputs... Some time ago while in the Kalahari I spent some 20 minutes taking a video of a young hyena who came to visit us while we were having our siesta after supper. He (or she) seemed innocent enough and I positioned myself under the table inside the A frame to have the best POV. It was delightful, the youngster was curious and sniffling around but since there was no food available he/she walked away to settle behind some bushes nearby. I was about to put the videocamera off when mommy suddenly arrived, bold and fast, me still tempted to carry on filming while Andre was shining his torch near her so I had just enough light for the camera to focus. But an adult hyena is fearless...Within seconds she was about half a metre away from me and her shiny black eyes measured me in a way that made me slightly uncomfortable. I could smell the dried blood on her fur and was so taken with her dark shiny eyes that I allowed her to get closer and closer. I have to thank Andre for his alertness and common sense, he eventually chased her with the spot light and she reluctantly walked away, her eyes still on me. I have developed a great deal of respect for hyenas over the years and just wish to warn everyone not to feed them while camping in the bush, I guess the only reason why they get closer to humans is because people tend to throw scraps of food for various animals. Hyenas are powerful and fearless, they are also great mothers. I enjoyed viewing this image Rachel, very much, it reminded me of my experience and I truly appreciate the way you portrayed/presented this cub. Very special image, thank you for sharing it with us!

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Nice story Gabriela! I think the Hyena's fearlessness has led to many stories through the years and I have one of my own which I won't fully tell, but picture this: me in my roof-tent shining a flashlight into the Botswana night, a tour guide (barefoot, only in his jockey underpants) chasing a hyena into the bush, the hyena trying to get away as fast as he can with one of our roof-tents' covers in his mouth (I literally almost wet myself from laughter)...

    Every camp seems to have its own 'local' hyena sniffing around for campers' leftovers and and although cute to some of us, they remain wild animals - and dangerous. Saw a set of pics last week on FB about a young leopard which killed a hyena cub and took it up the tree. Then for some stupendous reason climbed down, looking for a fight with two hyenas (the parents?) and was killed by them. They're no-one's playmates...
    Last edited by Tobie Schalkwyk; 09-04-2014 at 11:30 PM.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Gabriela and Tobie but let's keep it about the image and not about hyenas

  24. #15
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you Rachel, will do so! Sorry, could not help it, went off topic again...

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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