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Namibian Kudu
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Namibian Kudu

by Jan Bostelman

Gallery: WildlifePosted April 19, 2018211 views3 comments
They call these the "grey ghosts" for a reason. If you don't see their ears they blend in with all the vegetation around them. I do have full body shot on this, but cropped the image here. A lot of grass and trees on the left were distracting to me. I have even further cropped it for my own print in the house to isolate just the head. 
Location Mt. Etjo Namibia, came upon him by chance when looking for other creatures. 
Camera Nikon D800, Nikon 300 mm fixed lens
settings ISO 100, 1/500th second, f7.1

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on April 19, 2018 at 4:38 PM
One of my favorite African antelopes!  I like your composure of this image, brings out the best of the kudu.  I do think you could knock the contrast down just a bit, or maybe darken the highlights.  Thanks for sharing.  And, if I have not already welcome to NPN!
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 23, 2018 at 10:06 AM
The inner ear colors are quite striking in this pose, Jan.  Yes, getting that right horn separated from the vegetation would be nice, but getting wild things to cooperate is always a challenge.  The pose and your crop look good.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on April 23, 2018 at 11:32 AM
Beautiful specimen!  Only issue I can see is you were dealing with difficult, contrasty light.  I think you might be able to pull out more subtle detail with careful post processing tweaks as long as you are working with raw.  Color feels slightly edgy to my eye, and you could look at it with a little less saturation.
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments