I would like to entertain you a bit tonight with a fun image. Quite a number of issues with this frame, one of them being the fairly deep shadow on the LHS character, which bothers me tremendously. The scene was captured at a waterhole in the Kalahari and unfortunately pipes and other man-made elements were part of the "environment". I had to crop extensively to eliminate those and consequently IQ suffered quite a bit But I smile from ear to ear every time I look at this so I decided to share, if only to cheer you up for the evening.
Let me start by telling you briefly what is going on at those Kalahari waterholes... First of all, they are often dominated by certain species of birds who fly in to drink at particular times of the day. The birds are in turn prey to a number of bird eating raptors like Lanner Falcons, Gabar Goshawks and Rednecked Falcons. The most entertaining are probably the Lanner Falcons, and they are as frequent visitors as jackals. Flying at the speed of lightning, they rip the air in their attempts to strike one of the doves flying to, or drinking at the waterhole. One can actually hear them "cut the air" as they fly past the vehicle... The Jackals also try to surprise those innocent birds hiding behind rocks and pouncing randomly, hoping to snatch a Cape Turtle Dove or Namaqua Sandgrouse.
In this particular instance one dove fell into the water as the birds panicked during a Lanner Falcon raid. Despite the water being quite shallow he was slowly drowning. We really hoped that something would end his suffering but waited for some time and nothing happened. Interesting that a number of jackals were milling around, to our surprise and dismay none of them noticed this poor bird even though at times they drank quite close to it. Perhaps they were too nervous and preoccupied checking the surroundings for other predators...
Eventually one jackal noticed the drowning bird and grabbed it. He was busy swallowing the last bit - which by the way he did very greedily, feathers and all - when another fellow pitched up and interrupted his feast. The two got into a little squabble and both my companion and I managed a few frames, this is one of them
Hi Gabriela - I would have called it "Paws Up!" What a fun and unusual pose. Thanks for the backstory on the action and the description of the waterhole antics. Sounds like a fun place to sit for a while taking pictures.
This is a very humorous & entertaining image. The jackal on the left looks like it is being held up for his money. I throughly enjoyed your story about the water hole. TFS.
Always happy to put a smile on your face "Paws Up" sounds great, why didn't I think of it? I guess I had a slightly different "conversation" between those two in mind, LOL.
Black-backed Jackals are such great characters to observe and photograph, I will share more of their antics with you if you like. Thank you so much for viewing!
Hi Gabriela, this sure is one heck of a fun image! Made me smile for sure. Love the interaction and gesturing by the subject and thanks for the story behind it. Enjoyed it a lot. Though its a crop, IQ is still good.
TFS.
This is what wildlife photography is about for me. Really wonderful work Gabriela and great reflexes and anticipation getting this. In spite of the IQ (which is a minor issue looking at this), it really shows an up-front and personal contact between these too, oblivious to your presence. The eye contact between the two is excellent and a leap ahead of a stare at the photographer - but I've always been in two minds about eye contact between the subject and the photographer in nature photography because it says to me that the animal has seen you and maybe not behaving the way it otherwise might. I value greatly the unseen observer status. The only really minor thing I would change if mine is to move the comp down a little, but you did mention man-made distractions and maybe that's not possible here? But I feel bad about mentioning that because it really is nit-picking of what to me is a really top shot.
Glenn, those man made elements at some waterholes really spoil a photographer's images...I cropped as far down as I could. Lightened the shadow. There's this other frame I have - with one of those jackals eating the dove - I had to clone some of those pipes but some of the "construction" is still visible. I so hoped the jackal would run away with the dove but he ate it on the spot just to make sure no one stole it from him. Or maybe he did it just to spite me I will share it nevertheless, I like to show you what goes on at those waterholes. And please do not feel bad about mentioning all this, everyone is reading and we all learn from those discussions
Jackal eating dove coming soon... Or shall I say "it's in the pipeline"
HI Gabriela -- Really an entertaining image ! Priceless expression on Jackals face , and light is quite good as well. The IQ has definitely suffered but considering the lovely backstory and the settings that you described, I am pretty sure this is the best that could have been mad in terms of comp. But a lovely moment to capture and TFS !
Hi Gaby, I had to share my 2c worth here - brilliant timing and I'm sure you fired off a few bursts to achieve the best shot. Love the aggressive pose of the rear Jackal with his splayed legs, good view of his paws, and snarling mouth. All against a clean BG.