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Thread: Once in a lifetime

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    Default Once in a lifetime

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    For 35 years I've be tromping around and exploring the American west. In that time I've only seen 5 mountain lions and have photographed one. Two of these sightings were in Yellowstone National Park. In May of 2005 Lorri and I were fortunate enough to watch and photograph this mountain lion for an entire day from about 10am to 7pm. The cat was lying on a rock ledge across the Yellowstone River canyon near Tower Falls. Most of the time the sun was out but it did cloud up at times and I got my best images then since it lowered the contrast. The subject was far away and I used everything I had to capture this. I had my 2X on my 600mm with the 8 megapixel Canon 1Dmk2 camera. I used the very best technique I could and stopped down to F11 to help with the sharpness loss you get with the old 2x. I tried keeping the ISO as low as possible, the cameras just weren't as good back then. I've printed this to 20x30" and it looks great. Shown full frame...

    Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
    Shutter speed: 1/50 sec
    Aperture: 11
    Exposure mode: Av
    Exposure compensation: -1/3
    Flash: Off
    Metering mode: Multi-segment
    ISO: 400
    Lens: EF600mm F4
    Focal length: 1200mm

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Dale - What an incredible sighting and opportunity. I can only imagine the cat jam this must have caused! Colors look great and I am as green as the leaves with envy. Congrats!

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Incredible sighting Dale, and such beautiful composition. Love the relaxed pose from the subject. I cannot even say this is "high on my list" for I'll probably never see this species in my lifetime:)

    Those were difficult conditions you were shooting in at the time, and given the rarity of such sightings you and Lori are extremely fortunate to see a mountain lion, let alone photograph him.

    Awesome sighting, although I would have liked to see a close-up as well (I know that's asking too much, LOL), I am happy you managed to capture so much of this cat's environment - perched high on those rocks your subject looks safe and protected from "human predators" - are they still on endangered species list?

    Very special image and I thank you so much for sharing

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gabriela Plesea View Post
    Incredible sighting Dale, and such beautiful composition. Love the relaxed pose from the subject. - are they still on endangered species list?



    Kind regards,
    Gabriella,

    Thanks for the kind comments. Mtn lions are relatively common and are expanding their range back into areas they've been absent for many years. They have never been on the endangered species list. They come into contact with humans more often than they used to due to development in prime lion country. They can be quite dangerous and occasionally people are killed by them (especially younger children). Every so often one is sighted right here in Cody Wyoming. They probably come into town to hunt our abundant mule deer population. They are just extremely secretive and thus not seen often. I find there tracks regularly but as mentioned very seldom see them.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you so much Dale - been doing some reading on mountain lions after I viewed your post, in some places they were described as "endangered species". Please forgive my ignorance, I am only familiar with the species thanks to "Animal Plannet" channel:), but quite fascinated with this beautiful animal and would appreciate you sharing more images in the future, if you have.

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Incredible sighting and well captured!!
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Lovely shot and I like the composition. I may be well off the mark here but the image looks crunchy to me??
    Did you take any with a faster shutter speed? I know the 2x cannot improve optical quality but in my experience the biggest problem in using it is that the shutter speed has not been fast enough.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton View Post
    Lovely shot and I like the composition. I may be well off the mark here but the image looks crunchy to me??
    Did you take any with a faster shutter speed? I know the 2x cannot improve optical quality but in my experience the biggest problem in using it is that the shutter speed has not been fast enough.
    Thanks for the kind words. Not sure about the crunchiness you see? Looks good on my monitor and I also I just checked a 20x30" print hanging on my wall and can clearly see the individual whiskers of the lion.. You must realize this was cat was 300-400 meters away across a canyon. To see clearly defined whiskers tells me the sharpness is fine, considering the conditions I had.. That's a lot of atmosphere to shoot through at that high of a magnification. You loose about 20% resolution with a 2x and the great distance will also cause a loss of resolution. I used the very best techniques you could use for long lens photography (heavy duty tripod, mirror lockup, remote release, etc.) I think resolution loss related to shooting with a higher ISO back in those days was a greater concern for me so I really didn't want to go much higher than 400. I don't think I could have done much better with the equipment of the day.

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    Wonderful image of a very rare opportunity. Congratulations on making the most of it. Love the color and setting. Amazingly beautiful capture.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Robert I agree you did everything possible to capture the best image quality and I have no doubt whatsoever that you have a high quality print. I do not mean to be hypercritical becasue I think you have a 1st class image there. I seem to be out of kilter with everyone else so don't take my comments to heart.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton View Post
    Robert I agree you did everything possible to capture the best image quality and I have no doubt whatsoever that you have a high quality print. I do not mean to be hypercritical becasue I think you have a 1st class image there. I seem to be out of kilter with everyone else so don't take my comments to heart.
    Hey Jonathon,

    Wasn't bothered at all by the comments.. I was just explaining the difficulties I faced pulling this shot off. Would love to try this again with 2015 technology! In fact there's quite an entertaining story to go along with this image and a print I made. Rachel had to endure my telling of it in February but I won't punish the rest of you with it

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    Hi Dale another delightful image , congrats on the sighting .

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Dale, a cracking sighting and well handled given the overall conditions & kit. Often we forget when we look back the kit we worked with, was at that time, state of the art, how things have moved on, my first 1GB card was $350 . A remarkable image and I bet the image stands proud at home.

    TFS
    Steve

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