High Alert

Dear Friends,

I rarely share images of Painted Dogs because I do not have that many, opportunities have been scarce over the years. By the way there are only about 6500 of them in the wild, which puts them on par with the desperately threatened tiger. In the past they have been treated with contempt and considered vermin, their habitat gradually destroyed and fragmented to the point that they are no longer able to survive. Some efforts are being made to preserve the species but sadly their numbers continue to decline.

My companion and I were extremely fortunate to spend some time with a pack of Wild Dogs in the Kruger National Park. We watched them greet, play, sleep, groom, and get ready to hunt. One one occasion we followed them at a distance for as long as we could, trying to catch a glimpse of them chasing an impala among the tall grasses.

Here is one image of the Alpha female on high alert, responding to an intrusion from a few spotted hyenas. Within seconds the Alpha male as well as other pack members were on their feet and the attack was launched, as expected the intruders scurried away with tails between their legs.

Nikon D5
Nikon 500mm F4
ISO1600
F8
1/4000s

Image processed in LR and PSCC.

Thank you kindly for viewing as well as for your comments on my previous images, much appreciated.

Warmest regards,

That's crazy only 6500 left. Did not know that. I have seen them on nature documentaries about African wilidlife. The coat on the dog looks very neat with all those splotches and different colors. I like the pose as well.

Loving the alerted arched shoulders/hunched back so typical of these guys, my fav predator. Nicely seen Gabriela.

TFS

Hi Gabriela -- So great to see you posting again.

And I must say this is a superb portrait of the WD. I loved the expression and the framing works well , popping out of my screen. Nice details and colours look spot on.

The snout looks slightly soft as compared to rest of its face, or is it just me ? Coz i think Dof is just fine here .

Nicely done, TFS .

Hi Gabriela, like the attitude to this one, especially with the ears back! The fixed stare and slightly open mouth adds to the scene. Here I don't have an issue with the DoF especially as the head is slightly angled.

Personally I might add a bit of saturation in the eye just for a bit more 'life', clone the spot on the jaw and fur RHS, just for a more 'pleasing' look, cosmetic, nothing more. In addition may be burn back the top LHC with that brighter stick in view.

Well done.

TFS
Steve

Thank you everyone for your kind comments, I appreciate every word.

John, it's true, only about 6500 left. Sadly, half the world does not even know they exist and their endangered status is unknown to most people, even here in SA. Bear in mind, there are only about 500.000 elephants, twenty five thousand rhino, and about twenty thousand lion in Africa. We need to protect all those species.

Haseeb, F8 might not have been enough but it's all I could do at the time. It looked ok to me when I opened the image in LR. Also, subject was moving fast and by the time I managed to dial F10 it was too late:bg3:

Steve, I like your suggestions and will implement, especially the bit of 'life' in the eye. Spot on the jaw is from a bite or a sore that healed, probably scab fell off - I see what you mean, it kind of draws the eye. :S3:

Many thanks once again, will be back with more:5

Hy Gabriela its a very nice image, I like the alert posture of the dog, its body language and the ears held back convey alertness and tension. Also I like the how the light falls on her and reveals the texture of the fur.

Gabriela it looks absolutely beautiful. I couldn't think of a thing to improve it but having said that Steve's suggestions sound good.