Dancing Stripes

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 22, 2010394 views17 comments

These are the same cubs as an earlier posting -- taken April 2010 in Bandhavgarh National Park, India. For a description of the sighting, open the image called "Play Fighting" in my gallery.

Since I leave for India tomorrow and will be away for several weeks, I wanted to post another image from this sighting, something seldom seen and rarely photographed. It started with a bit of luck, being in the right place at the right time, but as the cubs began to play, I quickly re-positioned the jeep for all (clients and me) to capture the action. It was an incredible three minutes.

D300, 200-400VR, hand held, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/350

Comments and suggestions are appreciated.

I'll contribute and post as often as I can, when and where we have internet access.

Butch

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on October 22, 2010 at 1:12 AM

Wonderful action in deed!!! Makes me wonder why these kitties are playing in the water. I really like the composition/framing that you chose, the square crop keeps the eye riveted on the action at the center. It appears that you applied some pretty aggressive sharpening as there are some very hard edges. F5.6 might not have been quite enough dof to get it all in focus? Might have been the time to bump the iso and deal with any noise later. Alternatively, just sharpening the eyes on the one facing us might work, while just accepting blur elsewhere to emphasize the ferocity of the interaction. I like the similarity in color between the cats and the water. Enjoy India, I will be slaving at work for the foreseeable future months and years...

(not envious though).

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Richins on October 22, 2010 at 10:41 AM

Great shot. I love the dappled light, wet fur and frozen water droplets. I personally like how the color of the cats blends in with the color of the water too. Nice catch.

Registered on March 6, 2008, 113 Posts, 1009 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on October 22, 2010 at 12:40 PM

Wonderful timing here Butch. I like the angle and intensity of the left tiger especially. Very well composed.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on October 22, 2010 at 12:48 PM

wow, beautiful shot!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on October 22, 2010 at 1:41 PM

Unbelievable action photo Butch! The touching claws, the water spray the good view of the one tiger's head (including catch light!) are all aspects that make this amazing. Your processing look spot on as well. In a way it is a pity that the two were in a shadow spot, but the shadows are handled so well that this is hardly an issue any more.

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

Comment posted by Jerry Imprevento on October 22, 2010 at 2:03 PM

Incredible image Butch...those 3 minutes will last a lifetime for your lucky clients!!

Registered on September 11, 2010, 29 Posts, 78 Comments

Comment posted by mark cillo on October 22, 2010 at 4:07 PM

Awesome action shot here! It is really nice to see there cub tigers as a sign of hope for the species

Registered on July 27, 2008, 143 Posts, 1483 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on October 22, 2010 at 5:05 PM

Smoking photo Butch!!! Have Fun out there

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by antonio on October 22, 2010 at 5:52 PM

simply marvellous, greetings

Registered on November 25, 2009, 0 Posts, 4 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on October 22, 2010 at 8:18 PM

Great action shot of very unusual subjects!

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 22, 2010 at 10:13 PM

Terrific action. What a special moment. My only suggestion is to experiment with toning down the sharpening. I think it looks a little "crispy" on the wet fur.

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

Comment posted by Peter Conway on October 22, 2010 at 11:08 PM

Terrific capture, I love the expression! Agree with the suggestion to use a little less sharpening.

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on October 23, 2010 at 12:45 PM

Wonderful action shot, Butch...

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on October 23, 2010 at 8:13 PM

Hi Butch,

Well done - nice bit of action that's been very well captured! I agree with Vincent that it's a shame they were "doing it" in the shade, but you definitely handled that situation well. Also agree with the comment that parts of the image - in particular the whiskers of the cat on the left and portions of the wet fur - appear over-sharpened (at least on my monitor). But this is quite minor, easily corrected, and hardly takes away from this unique image (and experience!).

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on October 23, 2010 at 9:18 PM

Like the action! Also like the color of the water. Compliments the color in the tigers.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on October 25, 2010 at 11:52 AM

I can just imagine that it was an amazing 3 minutes based on this picture. Wonderful timing to get this difficult shot due to the contrast lighting, well done. Thanks for posting this unique image.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Austin Thomas on November 2, 2010 at 6:46 PM

Very impressive Butch.

The catchlight really stands out and I like the colour of the water.

Cheers

Austin

Registered on March 7, 2008, 45 Posts, 207 Comments