This is the Jardinii subspecies of the agile wallaby, found in coastal tropical Queensland. They are losing habitat to housing development on the outskirts of Cairns, and large mobs now feed on the playing fields in one of the northern suburbs. In this situation wallabies would often be fairly tame, but there is conflict with the locals, so these are really skittish. I got this one coming in my general direction as it was chased by a dog... Lots of rain in the wet season, makes for a nice splash.
1/1000, f5.6, ISO5000, 400mm.
Faster shutter speed would have been better, but it was verging on an unusable ISO in the low light, so about the best with the gear in hand.
Loving the mid hop action and subsequent water splashes here Greg, nicely seen. Overall quality & techs look good considering the low lighting cond's. Was this with your Canon 1DX?
Originally Posted by greg cowle
They are losing habitat to housing development on the outskirts of Cairns, and large mobs now feed on the playing fields in one of the northern suburbs.
Having purchased land & subsequent property build in Palm Cove some 9 yrs ago, I must plead some responsibility here Greg, I can remember we used to see a lot of these guys back then, and look forward soon to our return to FNQ after some 6 years now living in Switzerland.
Hi Marc, this was with a 5D4, the high pixel count sensors run out of ISO range more quickly than the pro bodies. These were at Trinity Beach, so you are not directly responsible, although close! I guess all those suburbs are merging now, so it won't get better for the wallabies.
Hi Greg I know the issue with the 5D IV very well, I have been photographing black grouse at dawn on two occasions and I haven't kept a single shot! High ISO and high SS with reasonable DOF is not a good combination!
Having said that I think the image is worthwhile and I have learned a new name too! Maybe consider brightening the eye a wee bit? I like the green grass, I frequently struggle to get a natural looking green.
Hi Greg -- Nicely timed , very difficult to capture the action moments in wildlife and you have done quite well in that department. nice suggestions above , but still nice to see a new specie posted here.