Caracal in Hot Pursuit

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 27, 2011193 views14 comments

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM MK II @ 200mm, Fully Manual: f/8, 1/2000 sec, 0 EV, ISO 400, Handheld While Laying Flat on the Ground, JPEG from RAW, Cropped About 40% of Full Frame

This is one of three orphaned Caracal cubs being taken care of at the Big Cat Reserve, Limpopo, South Africa.

He's a 6-month old male named Karoo and, though still of course wild, is as playful as you'd expect any kitten to be. Together with the head ranger, I spent more than a few hours over the course of several days with this wonderful cat who, above all other felines at the BCR, completely stole me heart!

Critique and comments always welcome.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on September 27, 2011 at 6:55 AM

The ultimate cat, in my opinion! I've only seen two, and that, too, at night. This is fabulous stuff, and to have got it running....unbelievable!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on September 27, 2011 at 10:45 AM

Great light, beautiful warm palette and an excellent dinamic pose on this one- My congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on September 27, 2011 at 10:46 AM

My favorite medium sized wild cat! You did a great job in catching the action of this caracal. The expression on his face with the eye nice and sharp makes this image stand out!! Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on September 27, 2011 at 1:30 PM

Gorgeous ! Its at a stage where its halfway between a fluffy furball and a sleek silent killer. Super cute

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on September 27, 2011 at 5:49 PM

Excellent. I love how the eye draws you right to it. Nice details in the fur.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on September 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

Nice action Ashley. I like the slight turn of the head that gave us good light in the eye and the way the trailing ear tufts indicate speed.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on September 27, 2011 at 9:57 PM

Nice action and good choice for DOF Ashley. I also like the warm tones

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on September 27, 2011 at 10:00 PM

Great image. The detail and color are really great. the color of the habitat really works with the cat.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on September 27, 2011 at 10:00 PM

Great image. The detail and color are really great. the color of the habitat really works with the cat.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 28, 2011 at 12:03 AM

Terrific animal and terrific running pose. Cool. Perhaps it is only me because no one else has mentioned it, but on my monitor I feel you could brighten the subject just a touch for even more impact.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on September 28, 2011 at 2:23 AM

Thanks for your kind words, comments Ajit, Fabio, John, Anand, Sally, Ron, Kurt, Richard, and suggestion Lon :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on September 28, 2011 at 12:18 PM

Great cat, nice to see it in action. White balance a bit too warm and/or overall colors a bit too brownish for my liking. Could be my laptop screen though.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 28, 2011 at 8:15 PM

Excellent stop action details Ashley. I can why young Karoo stole your heart..
It must've been great to watch him at play

Well done!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on September 29, 2011 at 2:15 AM

Thanks for your thoughts and comments Marsel and Howard :^)

Marsel: At the beginning of this trip I'd decided to wean myself off AWB and select the white balance through the camera. Daylight seemed fitting at the time, however, the more I look at this I tend to agree with your thoughts that it's a bit too warm and the overall colours are a tad too brownish. I'll go back and experiment a little more with the temperature slider. Thanks for the observation and input!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments