Head First

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 28, 2009130 views5 comments

Camera: Nikon F100
Lens: Tokina 80-200 F2.8
Film: Fuji Provia
Aperture: F5.6 [I think]
No Flash

Sorry folks, I couldn't resist the name; the gator head shot, along with the bird's head first position.

As many of you who've been to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm know, this type of action takes place once the young birds become big enough to prey on. I got this shot through the fence while lying across the boardwalk and handholding the camera.

I was going to say that I got my wife to feed this guy some road kill and clicked the shutter right after her hand pulled away, but someone would have thought that was insensitive. Of course my wife doesn't do things like that; I only let her carry my 30 lbs. of camera geer folks. Insensitive? Nope, not me.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on November 28, 2009 at 10:13 PM

Great action shot. Nice and sharp. Shame about the tree trunk coming out of the gator's head. Reducing the highlights in the upper portion of the photo might make the trunk blend in and be less distracting.

What kind of bird was it?

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on November 29, 2009 at 5:40 AM

Excellent detail Steve and a great behavioral image. Only the BG is distracting especially with that post right behind the head.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on November 29, 2009 at 10:32 AM

You have certainly caught the action. Those teeth are accentuated by the meal in the mouth. I agree about the tree in the background.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 29, 2009 at 11:22 AM

The gator seems perfectly exposed and the expression is macabre/comical! I like it.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Neff on November 29, 2009 at 12:03 PM

Thanks everyone for your comments. I wasn't crazy about the tree either. However, I had a choice to make; I saw this image as the gator was ingesting the bird and I had 20-30 seconds to get it with what I had or let it [the bird] go down the rest of the way.

I'm not up on my knowledge of birds [don't photograph them much] but it might have been a little blue heron [someone else would probably know].

Boy I wish Tokina would come up with a fast 80-200 F2.8.

Registered on December 11, 2003, 10 Posts, 35 Comments