Making the Most of a Miracle

[Arthur Morris]

Though Florida Panther has been seen where I live, the only mammal I get chances with regularly is Marsh Rabbit, and they are butt-ugly ... Read more below.

This image was created on Wednesday 12 August 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. Simply resting my rig on the passenger side window frame, I used the Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 10000. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/320 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. Somewhat miraculously, the exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. ABW at 7:15am with clouds on the eastern horizon.
Tracking Flexible Spot (M) Continuous AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection.

As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome and appreciated.

A Miraculous Morning!

I was heading south on Orange Avenue near my home at ILE at about 25 mph to look for some wildflowers. Some clouds in the east covered the early sun. About halfway to the end of the road, a Bobcat bolted across the road at full speed about 100 yards in front of my SUV. I slowed considerably as I got to the spot where it ran into the woods — hoping against hope. I glanced to my right as I stopped and was stunned to see the handsome cat sitting in a tiny clearing looking right at me. What were my chances? Slim and none. Or less!

But the right side front window was already down. And the big lens with the 1.4X TC and an a9 ii was resting against the passenger seat. I never even thought about setting up the tripod for many reasons; my only chance would be to lean to my right, rest the big lens on the passenger side window frame, and pray a bit. As I turned the camera on, I instinctively rolled the Control Wheel dial many clicks clockwise with my right thumb to raise the ISO, not knowing or caring where it stopped. The cat just sat there and stared at me. The total time elapsed had been less than 15 seconds.

With the image in the finder miles under-exposed, I noted the shutter speed of 1/2000 sec. I rotated the top-back wheel, again with my right thumb, to lower the shutter speed until I saw some Zebras on the cat. It stopped at 1/320 second as I noted that the ISO was 10,000. I focused on the face, re-composed left a bit to move the cat off center, and fired off 8 frames. Then the cat turned and disappeared. From the moment that I stopped until the Bobcat exited stage left could not have been more than 30 seconds.

One of the things I love most about nature photography and about bird photography in particular, is that you often have so many decisions to make in so little time. When you make them all quickly and correctly, the results can be tremendously satisfying. I was quite proud of myself as I almost always screw up under pressure. But knowing my gear and all of the camera settings and dials intimately allowed me to react quickly and almost instinctively.

Learn how I have been using RawDigger to improve my exposures in the blog post http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2020/...0-in-the-dark/http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2020/...0-in-the-dark/

with love, artie

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Artie, nice to have you posting after a long absence, but also commenting too, bringing a fresh pair of eyes and thoughts to the table.

Cool encounter and as you say, when it's something you least expect to see, it's always rewarding, esp[ecailly why you are flying by the seat of your pants in terms of zero time to plan, frame and get the exposure.

Overall, I like the framing and ultimately the fact there is no leaf over the face or body. I also like the fact the cat is sitting in an almost obedient manner, patiently waiting for you to take the shot, almost posing. Personally I find the image a bit 'sooty' and the subject a bit coarse, however at 10k ISO I'm not sure what the IQ would be like, or to expect. I'm making assumptions here Artie as we all do, not being there, but loosing the blue coolness perhaps offers a bit more of a richness to the vegetation, but again it may have been overcast, just after a rain shower... etc so I could well be way off. Adding some additional NR does I feel improve things, but just my take.

Nice to see a different species posted.

TFS
Steve

[John Mack]

Whoa bobcat! The way the bobcat is framed by those palms. The eye contact and pose are nice as well. The image quality looks quite nice for the ISO. I don't know maybe warm it up a hair. Im sure the more bluish light is the result of the cat being in the shade. Still what a great moment to have.

[Bretoteanu Dan]

Wow Artie, that's a spectacular shot of an elusive species! Here in Romania lynxes are shy as ****, I have a good friend who tracks after one for years and has only gotten him on a camera trap. I like the way you composed the image, the relaxed pose of the cat and its enviroment, he/she sat down just at the right place. To me the face looks a bit oversharpened, but then again I never shot anything at ISO 10.ooo. I like the colors better is Steve's repost, but thats just a matter of taste.

[Jonathan Ashton]

That must have been a super rewarding experience. The image appears a little noisy but there are not many cameras that can deal with ISO 10000 very well. If I was processing from scratch I would suggest a little more NR, a tad less contrast with less sharpening on the bobcat and checking the colour balance to make it tad warmer.

[haseeb badar]

One of the things I love most about nature photography and about bird photography in particular, is that you often have so many decisions to make in so little time. When you make them all quickly and correctly, the results can be tremendously satisfying. I was quite proud of myself as I almost always screw up under pressure. But knowing my gear and all of the camera settings and dials intimately allowed me to react quickly and almost instinctively.

Totally agree with it, I think you did a fantastic job. I might have screwed in such situation.

Coming to the image, I liked the settings framed by those palms , nice pose and eye contact and of-course a very good looking subject. I think the subject is lacking those finer details, looks a bit coarse to me. Backing off on the contrast might make it appear a bit subtle in the coat area. Colours are always subjective but I see some blues in the whites of the cat. There is some noise in there , but again at such high ISO it is bound to creep in and am find with it here as it adds a different mood to the image.

nicely done, TFS !

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie, nice to have you posting after a long absence, but also commenting too, bringing a fresh pair of eyes and thoughts to the table.

Cool encounter and as you say, when it's something you least expect to see, it's always rewarding, esp[ecailly why you are flying by the seat of your pants in terms of zero time to plan, frame and get the exposure.

Overall, I like the framing and ultimately the fact there is no leaf over the face or body. I also like the fact the cat is sitting in an almost obedient manner, patiently waiting for you to take the shot, almost posing. Personally I find the image a bit 'sooty' and the subject a bit coarse, however at 10k ISO I'm not sure what the IQ would be like, or to expect. I'm making assumptions here Artie as we all do, not being there, but loosing the blue coolness perhaps offers a bit more of a richness to the vegetation, but again it may have been overcast, just after a rain shower... etc so I could well be way off. Adding some additional NR does I feel improve things, but just my take.

Nice to see a different species posted.

TFS
Steve

Thanks you Steve. There was a fat branch covering part of the hind quarters that was removed. It was wet and dark. To be honest I did not see a big difference in the color with your repost until I saved your version and was able to view them in Photo Mechanic. I think that something in between might be perfect. Did you run any NR on your repost?

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

That must have been a super rewarding experience. The image appears a little noisy but there are not many cameras that can deal with ISO 10000 very well. If I was processing from scratch I would suggest a little more NR, a tad less contrast with less sharpening on the bobcat and checking the colour balance to make it tad warmer.

Thanks Jon. It was. There was no sharpening on the Bobcat, just very little sharpening of the JPEG.

If you or Steve would like a crack at the RAW file I'd be glad to snd it along.

with love, artie

[Steve Kaluski]

To be honest I did not see a big difference in the color with your repost until I saved your version and was able to view them in Photo Mechanic. I think that something in between might be perfect. Did you run any NR on your repost?

Hi Artie, only just saw the reply as I like many others no longer receive notification for some strange reason, however....

Personally I find viewing in PS better as you can arrange both images side by side or above via Arrange in the main header bar under 'Window', but again whatever suits.

I've only seen a Lynx not a Bob cat so the fur is probably too warm and so as you say, going somewhere between the two may offer the better option. Yes I did apply some NR, not great at this stage for obvious reasons, but I think it did help.

If you or Steve would like a crack at the RAW file I'd be glad to snd it along.

Artie, I would relish the opportunity to have a crack at the raw. It may not reflect the real IQ of what Sony can deliver at much lower ISO justice, but even so, it still would be an interesting exercise.