Wildcat

Posted by DC on Mon Sep 13, 2004 2:13 pm

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African Wildcat Felix silvestri
Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia
EOS10D, 500F4L IS, 1.4xTCII, iso 400, ev-2/3, 1/100, f5.6, 550EX +BB @ 0

I need to practise night shooting as I'm a little rusty. Still, I'm quite pleased with the results of those shots I did take at night, including this one.

I was lucky to even get this one. Just before sunset we stopped for "sundowners" on one of the plains and I was explaining to the guide what tigers were. The converstaion went on for longer than it should have done and it was getting dark fast. At one point he looked straight past me with an alarmed look on his face and suggested I got in the car. Well, instead of getting in, I reached for my camera and started to turn round. Then he says it's ok it's only a wildcat. I said that it may be just a wildcat to him, but I hadn't ever seen one so could we go...like now....
It's amazing how quickly you can attach flash and BB's when you need to

Comments welcome and thanks for looking

Dave
Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windscreen

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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Sep 13, 2004 5:00 pm

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Definitely a good subject to practice on. If the cat were not moving very fast, I would probably try taking the shutter speed down to 1/60 so that the light falloff in the background would be less. Basically by doing this, the background would receive 2/3 stop more exposure. But if the subject is moving faster, then the faster shutter speed is probably needed. In this case though, at 1/100 the paw is razor sharp so sower was probably an option especially since a little bit of blur in the paw wouldn't hurt the image.

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by Dennis Olivero on Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:24 pm

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Nice work Dave. Looks like you had an excellent trip. I wonder about bringing the crop in on the right side to just a little behind the forelegs.. THanks for sharing..

[b]Dennis Olivero[/b]
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by NDCheryl on Mon Sep 13, 2004 10:51 pm

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For being rusty with your night shooting, you did a nice job.

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by Cindy Marple on Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:36 am

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Cool, from Scottish Wildcats to African ones, were there similarities? Way to scramble and take advantage of an uncommon subject.

Cindy Marple
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by DC on Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:59 am

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Thanks for the tip EJ, I really do need to study the effects of shutter speeds on the flash output at night.

Good crop suggestion Dennis, and welcome back

Cindy, they have the same latin name so are technically the same species, although the markings appear a little different, but what do I know

Thanks all for taking the time to comment.

Dave
Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windscreen

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by Carol Clarke on Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:16 am

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All our shots on this trip had to be taken handheld - or on occasion balanced on a bean bag. The design of the vehicles with low sides and completely open top meant the use of a tripod was impossible. I gave up on night shots because it became too difficult to hold with the lower shutter speeds and even my gear was heavy! You did a great job Dave!!

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by DC on Tue Sep 14, 2004 4:10 am

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