How I did it—Last Dec. I had the pleasure of shooting Bosque Del Apache again with two good friends. We had six days of superb light. There were plenty of birds, Mule deer Bucks and three mature Coyotes. I liked “Watching his back-trail-Coyote” as in his habitat, can be so well camouflaged at times it would be difficult for the majority of people to notice him without a trained eye. Tools for the day, Canon 7D mark 11 coupled with Canon 100-400 11 4.5-5.6 shot off hand. 400 ISO at f 7.1 at 1250th of a Sec. His body color impressed me along with the strong body stance in watching his back trail. Post processing included a crop that offered me an almost a full frame subject. Camera Raw was a help lightening his neck shadows with the Shadow slider. The Brush on white at 10 px to lighten the dark field stalks, adjusted contrast, clarity and a slight border vignette to contain my image on the canvas.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 7 comments posted
Dr Isaac Vaisman
Erik, your hunter's eye worked for you again. I probably would have never seen him since his colors blend so well with the background, that is almost invisible. He is keeping an eye on you. It is very sharp, nicely composed, and all the dark twigs frame him very well, now that I can see him.... Posted: 02/05/2018 11:09:24
It is an amazing shot that you caught here Erik. I really like the detail on the coyote's body fur as well the fur covering the head and ears. The composition is nicely placed in the frame of stalks as well. Focus is done nicely.
In my opinion, I might have considered cropping down the top of the frame a bit more to accentuate the coyote. Also I feel that the photo might be a bit overly bright but that's just me and my eyes. Posted: 02/05/2018 16:35:22
Guy Davies
Erik, this is a great nature shot and really shows how well the animal can hide in full view by reason of his colouring blending with the surroundings. The coyote is very sharp and you have framed him well. I like seeing his surroundings because that illustrates how well he is camouflaged. Focus and exposure are dead right. Posted: 02/11/2018 08:35:23
I'm really impressed by your ability to focus sharply on his face and eyes in the midst of all that clutter. And the way his fur blend with the background is very well shown. Posted: 02/11/2018 13:28:56
Ian Chantler
Hi Erik
I would never have spotted the Coyote in a million years so for me this is a great spot as already said the animal is pin sharp which again is a feat in itself considering the amount of scrub around him amazing image that shows just hoe effective his camoflage is well done Erik. Posted: 02/17/2018 11:13:46
Bill Buchanan
An excellent shot. The unusual blend of grass and the animals fur almost blend together. The small distractions of out of focus grass does not bother me. It's all part of the overall natural story. Posted: 02/26/2018 13:57:01
Erik Rosengren
Thanks for your comments David, I left room at the top so my subject wouldn't be centered in the frame. Posted: 02/27/2018 09:32:05
