Caramba!

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 16, 2011328 views11 comments

Ashley's recent photos of a caracal reminded me of my one and only encounter with this beautiful and elusive cat. Just after sunrise is Tsavo East, we saw something cross the road in the distance. I knew from the outlines and the way it moved, that this was something I hadn't seen before, so worth while approaching carefully. By the time we reached the spot, we saw it disappear, giving us one last glance before disappearing off into the bush. An encounter like that makes my day...even if I didn't get the best of photographs...

Nikon D300
Nikkor AF-S VR 300mm f/2,8
f/2,8
ISO 500
1/200s

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 16, 2011 at 4:30 PM

Special encounter! I like the look back. If this is not already a substantial crop, you might see how it looks with some off the bottom and the right. The face and eyes are captivating.

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

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on November 16, 2011 at 4:31 PM

Ingrid, I think you did really well w/ the encounter you had, I would love to have an image like this! I like the muted tones and the way you isolated the caracal w/ DOF.

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on November 16, 2011 at 9:21 PM

This is fantastic, Ingrid! Just love the way it is looking back at you.

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

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on November 16, 2011 at 9:22 PM

Beautiful cat Ingred! I'm with Lon's recommendation if you can pull it off.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on November 16, 2011 at 11:00 PM

Wow, that sure is an opportunity and an encounter to be thankful for. The look back pose is fantastic as is the clarity and detail in its remarkable face. If this is FF I would suggest to crop a bit tighter.
Btw, there is a distinct color difference between the larger and smaller version (on my wide-gamut screen), with the large one looking over saturated. I checked and your large image is in AbobeRGB.

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on November 17, 2011 at 11:51 AM

I have a special liking for caracals and your excellant photograph is just outstanding. To me encounters like yours, is what makes wildlife photography so special. I wish I had taken it. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on November 17, 2011 at 1:21 PM

Thanks all for your comments and the useful tips - the photo was already a crop so I didn't do much more, just altered the composition slightly.
I don't know what happened to the color. I always use the same color profile and sometimes it looks ok on this site, and sometimes it doesn't. And why is there sometimes (and sometimes not) a color difference between the small and the large profile?
Anyway, I hope this one comes out better :-)
Thanks again for looking!
Ingrid.

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

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on November 17, 2011 at 9:38 PM

Awesome sighting and a timely capture ! These are the kind of images that bring back a rush of fond memories.

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on November 20, 2011 at 9:46 AM

Always marvelous to see one of these beautiful cats let alone in daylight, the eyes and ear tufts are perfect, not something you see captured so well

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on November 20, 2011 at 11:36 PM

Are you converting to sRGB before posting? If not, colors will vary, depending on browsers and monitors. I am not technical enough to expound on the specifics, but have seen the differences.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on November 23, 2011 at 6:05 AM

Wow! Really pleased my portrait of Karoo inspired you to share this delightful image of yours with us Ingrid, it a real beauty, and what a privilege to see one out in the wild, and to capture a picture as fine as this is a marvelous bonus, you must be very happy indeed!

BTW, while at first glance the colours on Karoo might appear a little over-saturated, that shot was actually captured just as the sun was setting, and the golden hue on his coat was very much the same as it was at the time, lucky me ;^)

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