Run away seal ....

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hello folks i have a bit of spare time ...so i thought i post something and comment later to others....
Steve told me, he might post a seal during my absence ...he did not so i took the chance .
Image as usual taken on Helgoland in previous winter ...will go back this winter in hope for better weather conditions .

In this scene the bull in front was chased by the half hidden one ....i was lying in the sand in hope not to become run over by them as they just run and run in this situations .Luckily that never happened to me ...maybe they do look where they are going to run over .
I wish the back bull was better visible , but there is no time to plan as it all does happen quickly and there is no way to predict what they are going to do next , specially which direction they are moving. And mostly this does happen very fast .
When i do see something like this happening , mostly i just throw myself into the dirt and hope for the best .Once lying i am no longer flexible in changing position ....old and less able to maneuver quickly with all that gear

Canon EOS 1Dx II
EF 200-400 IS L at 400 mm
HH

F 7,1 ; Iso 16000; 1/1600 sec ....well a bit more speed would have been better , but .....

Processed with DPP 4 and PS CC 2017, slight crop and rotation

Thanks fro watching and commenting to my previous posting

Cheers Andreas

[Mike Hitchen]

Another well-timed action shot. I agree about wanting a tad more of the bull in the background visible, and maybe a larger DOF to give a bit more detail - but at ISO 16,000 I guess your options were limited!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot I like the juxtaposition. As usual colours noise etc spot on.
Andreas get yourself a 100-400 - much more portable!!

[Glenn Pure]

I really like the pose here - looking back at his rival. It tells a great story. You've done a fantastic job catching this action as well given the poor lighting you must have had (ISO 16,000). Not sure a smaller aperture would have given you much more here - it just would have slowed your shutter and potentially killed the shot Mike has hinted.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andreas, nice to have you back posting again.

Steve told me, he might post a seal during my absence ...he did not so i took the chance .

Steve's been rather busy of late, but...

Good action and the head turn for me conveys very well the feeling of being chased. Lovely POV, nice and low and the viewer has a good connection with the subjects. I think you were bang on re DoF, the eye to nose is sharp (albeit on the same plane of focus) and there is enough in the male behind to give good separation & definition between the two. SS was just on the edge, nice bit of blur on the front flippers, why want more, but a well exposed image, push the ISO, get the SS high, great stuff. Personally I might loose the two 'vegetation' blobs on the LHS for a cleaner shot and so the eye isn't slightly drawn.

Andreas get yourself a 100-400 - much more portable!!

True Jon, but you don't have that lovely drop down extender when you need it.

TFS
Steve

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Excellent image Andreas with good lowish angle, accurate colours, details and techs nicely pushed to limit. TFS.

[John Mack]

The seal in the background makes this one. I like the low angle.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - Nice action and story-telling image. The low pov and the turn attempting to look back make the image. Well processed as usual. Nice one.

TFS,
Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Hi Andreas -- This is very nicely done , loved the moment, the main subject looks anxious for being chased which is very nicely conveyed by the capture. Lovely detail sand colours , and well processed as always . Enjoyed viewing this image .

TFS !

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hello all thanks so much for your kind comments , much appreciated .
Jon the 100-400 is actually no option for me , as i had the old one and did not use it that much since i have the 200-400. I rather use the 70-200 with the 2x ext ...when it comes to weight and size .
Steve i am 50/50 on loosing some of the not very important BG vegetation ....but here you go .
It looks cleaner no question ....

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve i am 50/50 on loosing some of the not very important BG vegetation ....but here you go .

On reflection, it balances things, in the RP it looks bare, but I would just tone them back now?