Spectacled Caiman + REPOST

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 22, 2012191 views14 comments

Escaped to the peruvian amazon for a week during spring break

One of the most amazing places i have ever been in.

Here is a spectacled caiman (white caiman) basking on a beach along the manu river. I chose to upload this pose as it shows of the "spectacles" nicely.

Parque nacional manu, Peruvian amazon.
Nikon D5000, 70-300 @ 250mm, f10, 1/500, iso 320, -1/3 ev.

Anand

Edit: This is a medium sized caiman (1.5-2 metres). That is one monster fly

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on March 22, 2012 at 10:10 PM

Really like the pose and comp here. Looks like it's keeping an eye on you!

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on March 23, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Outstanding image! I like this composition and pose, different from most caiman photos I have seen. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Clinton Bauder on March 23, 2012 at 3:27 PM

Very nice. I love the pose with the s-curve of the body and the tail. Great eye contact and the large DOF works well here since the background isn't distracting and it's nice to have the tail and the foreground sand mostly in focus. The green against grey color scheme is nice too.

Clinton

Registered on December 8, 2009, 31 Posts, 231 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on March 23, 2012 at 6:46 PM

I like the dramatic and intimidating perspective. It looks like it might be sizing you up for dinner. I think this image would benefit from some added contrast and maybe a bit of saturation. Otherwise this is a phenomenal capture. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on March 23, 2012 at 9:53 PM

Beautiful specimen, and capture, Anand! The low perspective has enabled the bg to be blurred. The way the caiman has turned and the sweep of the tail plus the partially raised right front paw, all convey a sense of motion.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 25, 2012 at 10:40 AM

Hey Anand,

Love the pose - that's quite the head (body) turn! Colour is interesting - that green tint to the caiman is quite interesting. When I saw the fly I began wondering about the scale - and the size of the caiman - thanks for clearing that up.

You know, I'm wondering if the entire image could do with a slight (1/3 to 1/2 stop) bump in exposure - overall it seems just a bit drab (and would likely pop more with a very slight bump in exposure). Just a thought...

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on March 25, 2012 at 10:58 PM

Thank you all !
@Brian, This one is actually contemplating whether to stay basking or get back to the safety of the water. We did see some huge black caiman that could easily have us for breakfast. Will post them later.

@Brad, it was an overcast morning and hence the dullness. Bumped up the exposure (on the jpeg file) in the repost which i think looks better.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 26, 2012 at 3:05 AM

Really quite nice. Clean viewing/shooting opportunities out in the open like this don't come every day with this species. A really appealing pose, with the profiled face and curved body.

Bummed I didn't make it to Manu. Any jaguar luck?

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on March 26, 2012 at 7:38 AM

Excellent image Anand. The repost is an improvement to an already good image.

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 26, 2012 at 8:04 AM

Great body language & positioning !
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on March 26, 2012 at 10:19 AM

Thank you Vincent and Jagdeep !

@ max, No Jaguars

We did see fresh pawprints on 3 different trails. Just the sensation of being in manu towards the end of wet season was amazing.

Saw lots of monkeys

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on March 26, 2012 at 3:55 PM

Love the repost. Beautiful light and colors. Great pose for you, too. I love the curves of the body and the tail.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 26, 2012 at 5:20 PM

Nice-looking shot here Anand. Good detail and exposure. Will work well as a B&W too IMHO.
That fly is HUGE

glad we don't have those here...

PS: Larger version looks better!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 26, 2012 at 11:38 PM

Some nice body language going here. I like the re-post better, Sweet Photo Anand!!!

Ken Archer

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