I'm still stunned that I actually saw one of these.
--Cara
Canon 60D
Canon XSi
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS
Canon 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS
Canon 100mm 2.8L IS Macro
Canon 300mm F4 L IS
Canon 50mm F1.8
Tokina SD 12-24mm F/4 DX
Not only did you see it, but you took a great shot of it, that first shot is cool Cara. It is nice took see such a beautiful animal in its own enviroment. Here in NZ we are doing our best to eradicate all mustelids as they decimate our native bird species.
Pete
Isn't it a cool thing in nature that the colours never seem to clash...
Canon 60D
Canon XSi
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS
Canon 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS
Canon 100mm 2.8L IS Macro
Canon 300mm F4 L IS
Canon 50mm F1.8
Tokina SD 12-24mm F/4 DX
Awesome shot, I have a family in the woods behind my house, that moved in this winter, i did have a rat and mole problem till they showed up so I guess they are staying around.
I HAVE SPENT 100'S OF HOURS TRYING TO GET A IMAGE WORTH KEEPING ON ONE!
Very nice images!
LOL, sorry Paul! Should I not mention that until I met this one I was even unaware that we had them in Illinois?
--Cara
Canon 60D
Canon XSi
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS
Canon 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS
Canon 100mm 2.8L IS Macro
Canon 300mm F4 L IS
Canon 50mm F1.8
Tokina SD 12-24mm F/4 DX
Congratulations and good job, Cara! I've never seen a weasel, mink, etc. in the wild - except once when I went trapping with a cousin. And that's not how you want to see these beautiful little guys.
In just posted a link to this on the PhotographyREVIEW.com Facebook Fan Page.
Thanks PJ! I'm still very excited to have seen this one, much less to have gotten shots of it. I don't know how large their range is, but I've been keeping my eye out for him when I go back to the same area. There's a ton of den holes in the river bank, I don't know if they're his or not though.
I added a comment to the PR facebook post that these were taken with the 50-500mm Sigma OS, in case anyone was interested in that lens
--Cara
Canon 60D
Canon XSi
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS
Canon 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS
Canon 100mm 2.8L IS Macro
Canon 300mm F4 L IS
Canon 50mm F1.8
Tokina SD 12-24mm F/4 DX
I added a comment to the PR facebook post that these were taken with the 50-500mm Sigma OS, in case anyone was interested in that lens
Thanks for the comment on the Facebook page. Since you mentioned the lens, how far away were you and how aware of you was the mink? I think the more technical info we share on posts like this, the better. Also, how long did you wait? Were you actually trying to shoot the mink or were you just out waiting to see what turned up for a portrait session?
Thanks for the comment on the Facebook page. Since you mentioned the lens, how far away were you and how aware of you was the mink? I think the more technical info we share on posts like this, the better. Also, how long did you wait? Were you actually trying to shoot the mink or were you just out waiting to see what turned up for a portrait session?
I mentioned some of this in another post (I had an initial "ID please" post).
Anyway, I honestly wasn't even aware we had mink in IL. The Skokie Lagoons are on my way home from work so I've been stopping there when the traffic is really bad and wandering around for a hour or so until there's not enough daylight to shoot.
I was walking down to the dike on one of the lagoons. There's a good number of Red-Breasted Mergansers there and GBH's frequent the area, and I already had taken a few shots out at ducks on the water. I saw something moving in the leaf litter and froze. I got a glimpse of a brushy tail and initially thought it was a squirrel, then it moved again and I realized it was too big to be a squirrel. It moved along the shoreline and as it got closer I knew it was some sort of weasel.
He got pretty close to me before he saw me. He stopped and took a very good look at me and that's when I got these shots. I'm actually very lucky they came out. I had been shooting out at the bright water and was set at ISO 100 and my shutter was probably around 1/1000. This guy was against dark ground and in heavy shade. I raked the shutter down to about 1/160th, and fired these shots. I was fumbling to up my ISO (note to self, fuzzy stretchy gloves bad for handling cameras) when he decided he wanted to disappear and vanished down the bank. Both shots were underexposed by not to the point that I couldn't correct it in PP.
Both shots were taken with a monopod and the 50-500mm Sigma OS, at 500mm. f6.3 and 1/160. PP adjustments were made for exposure.
Here's the uncropped version of one the shots.
--Cara
Canon 60D
Canon XSi
Canon 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS
Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS
Canon 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS
Canon 100mm 2.8L IS Macro
Canon 300mm F4 L IS
Canon 50mm F1.8
Tokina SD 12-24mm F/4 DX
Congrats on Feature Photo Cara, well deserved. It's an excellent photo.
Thank you for providing the additional camera/lens info and the story behind the shot.
To me this is the perfect post. A great shot with a good story...
"I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."
Aldo Leopold
Those are fantastic. Lucky! I've seen mink a few times, but they're so darn fast and each time s/he dove right into a semi-frozen brook and disappeared. Amazing little creatures. Fast as lightning.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing these rare captures. Good job, Jeff
Check out my websiteHere My Nikon D7000 Tips thread is HERE
All images posted by me anywhere are Copyrighted by Federal Law and may not be copied or used in ANY FORM without my personal written permission.Jeff Impey "I decided years ago I was only going to have two types of days...Very Good Daysor just Plain Good DaysI just refuse to have Bad Ones!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Congrats on the well deserved feature. I've yet to capture one of these.
Mike www.specialtyphotoandprinting.com
Canon 30D X 2, Canon 100-400L, Thrift Fifty, Canon 18-55 IS 3rd generation lens plus 430 EX II flash and Better Beamer. :thumbsup: