Camouflage

Gallery: AvianPosted April 23, 201298 views5 comments

One last image from our time with the Prairie Chickens at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. I was really happy with the image I got from the blind. We had left the blind and was driving the road in the refuge to see what else we could see. Two Prairie Chicken ladies were on the side of the road and moved into the grass. Their camouflage is so good I never would have seen them if they had not been on the road first. I like this image because it portrays their ability to hide in their habitat and one of their defense mechanisms.

Canon 40D
Tokina 80-400
Aperture Priority
Shutter 1/3000
Aperture f5.6
ISO 640
400mm
Cropped to vertical
Color correction in PSE9

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 23, 2012 at 4:10 PM

Richard, I really like the overall look of this image. The bending grasses really add to the feel I like so much. My only wish was for the bird's eye to be sharper in the large version. It is not that it is not sharp per say, but it has some kind of blurred look to me that I wish was not present. Overall, a very pleasing image.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Sally Wood on April 23, 2012 at 7:20 PM

Great job,,, and wow talk about blending in.. good thing you spotted this and were able to follow them into the grass.. lovely shot and catch light inthe eye too!

Registered on March 8, 2012, 39 Posts, 509 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on April 24, 2012 at 12:36 PM

Very cool image Richard, I'm amazed you were able to pick him out from the grasses. I like the feel of the image and the overall composition. I'll note the nit from Ron, but this is a neat capture, congrats.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on April 24, 2012 at 1:46 PM

I blew the image up large and the softness across the eye seems to be a small oof weed that is going across the eye.

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

Comment posted by Peter Cross on April 25, 2012 at 12:16 PM

This is a great environmental portrait, Richard. This is one case where lots of blades of grass adding to the confusion are exactly what is needed to show how well they do blend in. Although once things green up it won't work quite as well. Nice image that tells a story of reality in this bird's life.

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