Hyaena Den

[Hilary Hann]

I wasn't sure whether this hyaena warranted posting, but hyaena are under represented here and I think they are rather beautiful. This image was taken very late in the day, as we sat and watched a den with many cubs for some time. This fellow suddenly popped up and looked at us but it is very under exposed and the 7D doesn't really perform that well in those conditions. I have run some noise reduction but the image is starting to posterize so it won't get much better, at least I don't think so.

Masai Mara, 6.20pm, 7D, EF70-200 f2.8 @ 200mm, f11, 1/250, ISO1600 Full Frame, hand held.

[Ken Watkins]

Hilary,


Nice to get to see the pubs they are a lot cuter than the adults. What I think would have helped here is opening the lens up to give you a faster shutter speed, the lens you were using is usually really sharp.

Not to sure about te noise levels on 7D at that speed, but you could try doing it on a layer sufficient to reduce noise on BG and then erasing it at starting at a low % settings on the hyena but mainly on the face. A round or two of sharpening afterwards should sort out a reasonable quality image.

[Robert Amoruso]

Good suggestion by Ken.

He looks rather sad.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hilary - the pups are definitely cuter than the adults. I like that you captured this as he was emerging from or sitting in the den entrance. I haven't tried the 7D at 1600 ISO so thanks for the warning.

Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Good suggestions Ken, thanks.

Thanks Robert & Rachel. Just to prove the point about hyaenas being attractive, this was one of the adults. :)

[Rachel Hollander]

Sorry Hilary, I didn't say this one was cuter just that pups generally are cuter than the adults, although this does look like a nicer specimen. I still don't think hyenas are attractive but I have not spent a lot of time photographing them either. :)

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary

For me I find it just slightly too big in the frame, a bit more to the rhs and above (working in pro) would help, but sadly this is full frame. There is more detail you can get out of both the eyes & nose, just needs a bit more work. Still not sure why you go for f/11, to drop to f/5.6 would certainly have helped and perhaps helped drop the ISO if you have over 1/500 sec for SS. What i do like is him/her popping out of the den & looking into camera. ;)

TFS
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve. The image was underexposed by at least a stop, maybe 2, and looking back at the sequence of images I think this is what happened. I have a collection of images of the den and the family out in the open. I had the f stop set to get a reasonable dof for the group dynamics. Then this chap just popped up out of the ground in relative darkness so I grabbed the shot. I think I need to learn to think on my feet a bit faster.
Thanks everyone. Rachel, apologies. I thought you were thinking this was a youngster, my mistake.

Hyaenas are very interesting. Strong family groups, supportive communities, matriarchal, intelligent, good hunters, good recyclers and fascinating physiology. :)

[Steve Kaluski]

Aren't the pups normally black?

[Rachel Hollander]

Aren't the pups normally black?

The ones I saw in the Crater were (or at least a very dark gray).

[Hilary Hann]

Typically the young of hyaenas are called cubs (according to the IUCN hyaena specialist group) and are born black but then progressively change colour. The cubs I saw here were not tiny but were still very dark.

[Steve Canuel]

Unique animals for sure, this one looks almost cuddly except for those dark, black eyes and hint of what looks to be blood on the fur. You mentioned you were on the edge of quality PP-wise but maybe just a touch of lightening in the eye sockets and nose?

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve, you are possibly right but when I tried lightening the eyes and sockets a little it became quite nasty … noise, murky sludge etc. I think the solution is to go and do the job properly next time. :D

[Steve Canuel]

Thanks Steve, you are possibly right but when I tried lightening the eyes and sockets a little it became quite nasty … noise, murky sludge etc. I think the solution is to go and do the job properly next time. :D

If only the animals would give us do overs!

[Harshad Barve]

Agreed with Ken ,
TFS