Pine Marten

[Andrew McLachlan]

Pine Marten from last winter in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park.

Nikon D800
Nikon 200-500mm lens @ 500mm
ISO 1250
f5.6 @ 1/400 sec

Looking forward to comments and suggestions.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andrew, well framed, love the facial expression and the tongue wrapping around the nose (is it that red???). Good detail and I like the contrast between the tree bark and fur. I wonder if this is the same location as dan shot his, an animal I would love to photograph as ours are far more nocturnal, unless captive where they are seen in the daylight or baited with Jam sandwiches.

A 'cheeky' image for sure.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andrew - Always nice to see you posting in Wildlife and this is no exception. A very cute subject and I really like the tree as the left edge. The tongue just adds to the image. You don't mention crop. If you have it, I would consider a sliver more space above. The leaf(?) stuck to the fur/claw draws the eye but is not a deal breaker. Nice one.

TFS,
Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Hi Andrew -- Lovely pose with that tongue stuck out and curled , nice details and sharpness . I see some noise in the BKG . ALso what is that tag like rectangular thing on its tail ?

TFS !

[Mike Hitchen]

As everyone else has said a shot made all the better by the tongue lapping out.
If they are anything like our marten's they are skittish so congratulations on reacting quickly to the situation.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Andrew what a cool character , i like the overall comp and the tongue sticking out and doing its work .
Lovely colors and a stunning BG , giving a super color contrast to the rest . I do not know about the Marten´s over at your place , but here very difficult to shoot them .
So i think you have done well .

TFS Andreas

[Morkel Erasmus]

A really nice image Andrew! Love the expression and framing.
How are you finding the 200-500? A friend has one and I have been impressed. As with most budget superzooms I have gotten the feeling that it works best stopped down a fraction from wide open 5.6?

[Andrew McLachlan]

[QUOTE=Rachel Hollander;1144219]Hi Andrew - Always nice to see you posting in Wildlife and this is no exception. A very cute subject and I really like the tree as the left edge. The tongue just adds to the image. You don't mention crop. If you have it, I would consider a sliver more space above. The leaf(?) stuck to the fur/claw draws the eye but is not a deal breaker. Nice one.

Hi Rachel, thanks for the comments....this is actually a horizontal crop from a vertical capture so I could do a re-crop and leave more above and less below. The leaf you refer to his actually a small broken branch that the Pine Marten is sitting on.

[Andrew McLachlan]

[QUOTE=Steve Kaluski;1144215]Hi Andrew, well framed, love the facial expression and the tongue wrapping around the nose (is it that red???). Good detail and I like the contrast between the tree bark and fur. I wonder if this is the same location as dan shot his, an animal I would love to photograph as ours are far more nocturnal, unless captive where they are seen in the daylight or baited with Jam sandwiches.

Thanks Steve and yes it would be the exact same location where Dan photographed his. Each winter the Pine Martens gather at one of the campgrounds to access the large garbage containers as a food source. They are very easy to photograph at this location....almost too easy :)

[Andrew McLachlan]

[QUOTE=Andreas Liedmann;1144258]Hi Andrew what a cool character , i like the overall comp and the tongue sticking out and doing its work .
Lovely colors and a stunning BG , giving a super color contrast to the rest . I do not know about the Marten´s over at your place , but here very difficult to shoot them .
So i think you have done well .

Thanks Andreas...much appreciated...come on over to Ontario during the winter months and I will take you to the park to photograph them....they are rather easy at this location!

[Andrew McLachlan]

A really nice image Andrew! Love the expression and framing.
How are you finding the 200-500? A friend has one and I have been impressed. As with most budget superzooms I have gotten the feeling that it works best stopped down a fraction from wide open 5.6?

Thanks so much Morkel...I love the 200-500...only weighs 5lbs....yes I do often stop it down to f8 but I have achieved great results at f5.6 too...I am going to pick-up a D500 next month and can't wait to use on that body..I think you would find the lens very handy for your wildlife imagery. I was going to upgrade my old 80-400 lens to the newer version and then the 200-500 came out so I went for the longer reach and am quite satisfied.

[Basil Dardagan]

Beautiful image with the bright tongue a lovely eye catching focal point

[keith mitchell]

Lovely sharp crisp image,I like the peek a boo pose and that pink tongue,really nice.

Keith.