Coyote (Finally)

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 26, 2012707 views19 comments

This might seem trivial to many, but I haven't been able to get close enough for a good Coyote shot in literally 3 years. It has been so frustrating. As soon as they see me, they take off in a sprint. They never used to do this in my area and I have been trying to figure out why. I know we have had several Coyote attacks on dogs or people walking dogs. I think because of this, many people are chasing them and terrorizing them, because they are extremely scared of humans now. I finally found one at Rocky Mountain National Park that let me get a few shots in before he/she left into the woods.

I decided for this shot to use a wider than normal Aperture to blur the BG more which was pretty busy and because of the early shot before sunrise and low light.

1D MIV
500mm f/4
1/250 at f/4.5
ISO 800

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on February 26, 2012 at 10:47 PM

Well, you did an excellent job on this one. Very nice pose, very sharp details, and a good color palette. I agree with your decision to defocus the background as it really helps the coyote to pop out. Has this shyness been happening in RMNP as well? I wouldn't think there would be much harassment of them there as it is illegal. That's one of the virtues of our parks, that
most animals are not quite as spooky around people.

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on February 26, 2012 at 11:59 PM

congrats to very nice shot (finally....), I know this fella I have even the short movie of him,,,, I know how frustrated you were,, I have the same problem with foxes, I have flat NONE!!!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on February 27, 2012 at 5:40 AM

Very nicely done, Kurt! Love the head turn, the raised left front paw and the blurred bg.

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 27, 2012 at 7:33 AM

Really like the sharpness of the coyotes face. Great pose, and good handling of the BG. I have not even seen a coyote in years. Glad you got this shot. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 27, 2012 at 8:59 AM

Hi Kurt,

Not trivial to me! Coyotes in my neck of the woods are regularly shot at, so getting within a km of one of them has become quite the trick...so I can appreciate this.

Great head-turn and overall pose is appealing to me. You captured the eye well. Even tho' nicely blurred and not distracting, that background does look busy enough to justify the decision to minimize its impact through using a shallow DoF.

Thanks for sharing this...cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by William Bickle on February 27, 2012 at 9:02 AM

Hello Kurt

Really nice clear Image & Sharp where it matters. Posed for you and nice Head turn with small leg raise. I too have no susess yet.
We have some inour area see their snow prints but I think mostly night creatures. Love the Sharp features of Mr Coyote.

TFS

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Jake Dingel on February 27, 2012 at 9:32 AM

Very nice, like the raised paw. When I was at RMNP in August there was family of coyotes hanging around the the upper Beaver Meadows area that allowed me to get some photos on several different days.

Registered on April 24, 2006, 34 Posts, 633 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Huff on February 27, 2012 at 12:57 PM

Really nice shot Kurt. The head turn and pose are awesome.

Ron Huff

Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Atkinson on February 27, 2012 at 1:42 PM

Great portrait shot. It's almost as if he allowed you to coach him!

Registered on July 22, 2005, 20 Posts, 171 Comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on February 28, 2012 at 6:23 AM

Beautiful shot! I like how you blurred the background, and you caught him in a great pose!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Jess Lee on February 28, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Nice low angle. In most parks the policy is to harass or remove any canines that are not afraid of people. I guess I would rather they run than be shot by a ranger.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 114 Posts, 929 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 28, 2012 at 3:14 PM

I really like this image. The dof, color and focus are right on. I like the cautious look and pose of the animal, very typical of a Coyote. Very fine image.

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

Comment posted by Benjamin Olson on February 28, 2012 at 6:50 PM

Beautiful image, great call on the DOF choice!

Registered on April 7, 2007, 169 Posts, 725 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on February 29, 2012 at 7:38 AM

Fantastic pose, looks like your first encounter in 3 years turned out very well!

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on February 29, 2012 at 6:47 PM

Super sweet coyote photo Kurt

Great alert pose with that lifted foot,excellent fur detail and I really like that complimentary background. Great Shot!!!

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by William Gillis on March 3, 2012 at 8:53 AM

Kurt, I really like this shot with the out of focus background and the pose. The DNR officials are encouraging "Hazing" of the coyotes in our area resulting in fear of humans so I really appreciate the effort to get this neat shot.

William Gillis
Minnesota

Registered on November 28, 2011, 17 Posts, 204 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 7, 2012 at 12:46 PM

Great image - nice pose, fine detail and the DOF choice worked well.
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on March 9, 2012 at 1:39 PM

Awesome image, Kurt! I love the pose from the coyote, especially with that one leg up. He has a really intense look in his eye! Congrats on the WP!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on March 13, 2012 at 9:14 PM

Lovely colors and great capture of a moment in the wild when the animal looks around with a bit of fear. The BG is great as well.

Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments