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Cooter on Log WC581

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted April 25, 201378 views6 comments

Kayaking down Snake Creek near Hontoon Island State Park (Florida) I passed this peninsula cooter which uncharacteristically remained balanced on his log as I quietly drifted past. So I continued on a bit, turned around, pulled my camera out of the dry bag and came back staying on the far side of the creek while he stayed put, allowing me to capture this image. The shape of the log reminded me of an alligator.
Canon 7D, focal length 200mm (70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens) ISO 320 F/5.0 1/1000 sec Shutter-priority, exp.comp -1/3

As always (even when I forget to say it) comments & criticism welcome.

Paul

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by John Clulow on April 25, 2013 at 4:56 PM

Great capture! I love the pose, the sharpness of focus, and the reflection in the water.

Chelonians love to bask and this guy was soaking up every ray possible. (I'd say it's a male based upon the apparently concave plastron in the area resting on the log.) I've raised a T. ibera, tortoise, from a hatchling for the past 20 years, and the facility with which he orients himself toward the sun reminds me so much of the subject of your image.

Beautiful! Thanks so much for posting it.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on April 25, 2013 at 6:07 PM

Paul,
I'm always reminded that 'Life is Good' when I see these guys sunning on the rivers. Great detail and the low angle you get from a Kayak really adds to this image.
Well done

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on April 26, 2013 at 10:46 AM

Excellent behavior shot, and your narrative provides a good lesson in techniques to avoid spooking wildlife.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on April 26, 2013 at 11:14 AM

Now that is a unique sunbathing pose! I've never seen this pose in a turtle before, so I did a double-take when opening your image. He does look like he is trying to expose every possible part of his body that he can to the sun. He looks blissful--as Mike said it emotes the feeing that "life is good".

Great DOF choice, nice comp, and I also like the down low POV. My one thought would be to crop up some from the bottom to eliminate much of the OOF water, making this more of a pano shot. Great shot, Paul.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Lockhart on April 26, 2013 at 9:36 PM

Ha, Ha! Looks like he's ready to do a belly flop! Was just down in Everglades National Park in March and saw our share of alligators, so I agree with you about the log. I noted with interest that turtles are called cooters down south. Seeing a lot of them up in CT now that the weather has warmed up; mostly painted turtles. Your photo is nice and sharp and the composition works well with him centered.
Jim

Registered on February 19, 2013, 91 Posts, 500 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Rebmann on April 27, 2013 at 5:37 PM

Thanks to all for your comments. Carolyn, I had not thought of a pano crop for this image, but I am really liking the idea.

Paul

Registered on July 17, 2012, 31 Posts, 122 Comments