Short-Beaked Echidna

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 25, 2016156 views10 comments

I've just returned from my first visit to Australia. This was a short trip--two weeks in nowhere near enough time to devote to such a large country with so many natural attractions--and was a semi-vacation for myself and my wife... but naturally I couldn't help but plan a few wildlife stops on the way.

One of the animals at the top of my wish list was the echidna. Along with the platypus, this is one of the few monotremes (egg-laying mammals) on the planet. They also happen to be quite cute, so it was a thrill to spend a couple hours with one that we found in Tasmania. This individual spent most of its time with its head buried in the ground as it dug up bugs, so it was quite challenging getting a clear view of the face.

Canon 1DX
Canon 100-400mm
ISO 800
1/1600th
f/5

Max

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on April 25, 2016 at 1:22 PM

Killer shot of a near-unique mammal, Max. The low angle, the sharpness and the eye contact make a wonderful shot. Outstanding.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Christopher Yeoh on April 25, 2016 at 3:47 PM

Great capture. It looks he is hiding something from you :)

Registered on February 2, 2016, 4 Posts, 16 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on April 26, 2016 at 3:09 AM

Max,
What a wonderful sighting beautifully captured devil

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on April 26, 2016 at 9:10 AM

I find this head on image to be very interesting. Shows some of the unique features of this odd mammal. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on April 26, 2016 at 5:48 PM

Max: fine shot of a little seen animal. The low perspective shows off the animal extremely well. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 30, 2016 at 6:59 AM

Super cool portrait of this unique little cutie Max!!!

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on April 30, 2016 at 4:58 PM

Hi Max,

I think this is really cool. Love the animal itself (so unique) and also really like how you handled the subject matter - everything from the low angle through to your DoF/aperture choices adds to the shot. My only nit is that the magentas seem a bit strong (mind you, I haven't seen one of these before, so perhaps their "beaks" and spine-tips are somewhat magenta! enlightened

). I did check the colour on 3 different monitors...

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on May 1, 2016 at 12:11 AM

Thanks, folks. Brad, I just got a new computer that's not calibrated yet, so sometimes it's hard to tell if it's my imagination when I see problems like you described... but I do think you're right about the slight purplish tinge. After posting I noticed it and tried to reduce it when re-processing (though I did not repost). I'm so used to dealing with overly-warm color castes that too much magenta is a new issue for me. enlightened

Max

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on May 2, 2016 at 8:34 PM

Super image and great low angle here Max, congrats devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on July 15, 2016 at 12:55 PM

That's so cool! I'd love to go to Australia one day and photograph. I've always thought echidna's were cute, but this one takes the cake! Great image, Max. I hope to see more.

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