I have got my organisation to sponsor a conservation project and was away to review that. This is a Nilgiri Tahr, endemic to the Nilgiris and the South Western Ghats in India. Scientific name: Nilgiritragus hylocrius. I could sight three of them and was fortunate to get them close.
Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens at 135mm, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/50, EV: +2/3, hand held, full frame. It was drizzling and light level was very low.
Loverly image design Sabya. Peter's repost is excellent. A bit more sharpening seems to be needed.
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Robert & Artie, I am happy that you liked this image. I agree that it ought to be sharper. I think a higher ISO would have helped as it was moving. Will try some sharpening as well.
The Nilgiri Tahr is threatened as per the IUCN classification. It is primarily due to habitat fragmentation. It stays in steep cliffs to avoid predation.
Ah, I was gonna suggest adding more light to the original exposure but then I saw, "1/50 sec. handheld..." But then I saw "28-135mm lens."
1-How did you get so close?
2-Why not a mmedium telephoto on a tripod?
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Artie,
I forgot my tripod at home and only remembered when I was in the airport. A costly mistake.
There were three males and they were on a rock cliff. They soon moved on to the road. I didn't think they will stay there for longer and hastily grabbed the 28-135 and started crawling. It would have been better to have the 70-200 f2.8 but I am not sure I could have handheld at such low shutter. Also I was breathing fast due to the higher altitude.
Frankly speaking they are very skittish and run away. I looked at their body language and felt they might not run away. So I crawled and waited and they moved closer. I was within a few feet of these fellows. This guy even did show off its head in a mock charge manner. In that situation it would have been better to have a camera with a live view as it was difficult to know the actual distance when I was looking through the camera. One head butt and I would have been off the cliff.
I will go on treks in the near future for them. Hope to see them as close.
Thanks for sharing that story Sabya. And do stay on the cliff!
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A handsome animal. I like the angle of the portrait. Would agree with the need for sharpening but after reading your story, I'd say well done! And be careful out there. After all your time spent with tigers, it wouldn't look good for you to be done in with by a goat :)
Interesting pupil Sabya, and the conditions certainly created a high key effect. I would try and run another round of USM if possible, and Peter's repost has brought out the colour nicely. Thanks for sharing.
Nilgiri Tahr
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