Angry grey seal

[Mike Poole]

A seal image from a couple of months ago from Donna Nook. You can't access the seals, so not as dramatic as Andreas' Helgoland specimens, but you take what you can get.

I was behind the viewing fence watching a mother and cub. The cub was surrounded by a little bush which gave a nice framing opportunity, but the mother wouldn't leave it. It soon became clear why as an aggressive female hauled herself up towards the pup, and this was shot a few moments before a short fight.

No idea what the fight was all about but I never intend to get on the wrong side of those teeth!

Slight crop for comp from the left, otherwise full frame

Canon 5d3
500mm f4 is
1/2000th f4
ISO 2500

Mike

[haseeb badar]

Hi Mike -- One angry looking seal ! considering the DOF the details look good, i wonder how many different colours and textures these Seals have . The blacks look a bit strong here ,especially behind the mouth opening . I liked the way it is framed . TFS !

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Mike - The profile works here with the open mouth and aggressive expression. A bit more dof would have taken it up a notch but not a deal breaker. You've brought out nice textures. Yes, the blacks are a bit choked. If it were mine I would reduce the yellows but you were there and it may be accurate as posted. You did well shooting through the fence.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mike , i love the aggressive frightening look the female gave you ... well timed Mike .
She does look like a " typical Donna Nook " girl , as the seals on Helgoland does never look that muddy , because there are no real tidal flats where you have the muddy sand .

All does look good to me in terms of color , tone , detail , DOF etc , just the blacks do look a bit choked in parts .
Lovely work , Mike .

Rachel this was not taken through a fence i think ..... it should be taken above a fence , as the fence is maybe hip high and i guess Mike is slightly taller than the fence .

TFS Andreas

[Mike Poole]

Hi Mike -- One angry looking seal ! considering the DOF the details look good, i wonder how many different colours and textures these Seals have . The blacks look a bit strong here ,especially behind the mouth opening . I liked the way it is framed . TFS !

Thanks Haseeb. Point noted about the blacks.

This one had come over the beach and the mud, so a lot of what you can see is dried mud!

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Hi Mike - The profile works here with the open mouth and aggressive expression. A bit more dof would have taken it up a notch but not a deal breaker. You've brought out nice textures. Yes, the blacks are a bit choked. If it were mine I would reduce the yellows but you were there and it may be accurate as posted. You did well shooting through the fence.

TFS,
Rachel

Thanks Rachel, blacks noted as per Haseebs comments. As Andreas said, the fence is fairly low so I was shooting over it rather than through. It has to be there for the welfare of the seals but is frustrating when trying to get the best angle.

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Hi Mike , i love the aggressive frightening look the female gave you ... well timed Mike .
She does look like a " typical Donna Nook " girl , as the seals on Helgoland does never look that muddy , because there are no real tidal flats where you have the muddy sand .

All does look good to me in terms of color , tone , detail , DOF etc , just the blacks do look a bit choked in parts .
Lovely work , Mike .

Rachel this was not taken through a fence i think ..... it should be taken above a fence , as the fence is maybe hip high and i guess Mike is slightly taller than the fence .

TFS Andreas

Thanks Andreas, your Helgoland shots are having me check out airfare for those great BGs!

Mike

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Andreas, your Helgoland shots are having me check out airfare for those great BGs!

Mike

Mike to be honest if Donna would be closer to me ... i would go to Donna . For me a question of timing when to go to Donna for general seal purposes . If you want to get to pups then Helgoland might be the better choice as there is no fence so far .

[Eric Dienesch]

an impressive picture, very close.
for me i would not get closer.. seals can be very fast....i was in helgoland 2013

[Karl Egressy]

Truly amazing details on this nice head shot, Mike.