Disqualification?

Some time ago, I mentioned that an image of mine had been disqualified at a major contest because of the unallowed use of Photoshop. Now let me state that I am not angry, disappointed or anything like that about it. I just did (and still do) not agree and am curious to your opinion.

To the left is a comparison between the entered image (top) and the original image (bottom). As you can see, other than some slight levels and contrast work, all I did was reduce the red in the eyes that resulted from the use of fill flash.

The contest rules are not very detailed and state something along the lines of "please stay as close as possible to what you saw at the time of taking the photograph". Of course, removing or adding items is not allowed. Now, when I photographed the owl, it did not feature red eyes from hayfever or a night at the bar. The eyes only took on the red color from the use of fill flash.

So in my opinion, by removing the red color from the eyes, the image got a lot closer to what I saw at the time of taking the photograph. If what I did to the original is put along the non-detailed contest rules, I cannot do anything other than conclude that a disqualification of the image was not rightful. What do you think?

Dam(n)selfly

Damn, a Damselfly. More specifically a magnicifent Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes viridis, Houtpantserjuffer). A beautiful subject and I do like the photograph, but it is not what I had intented to photograph last weekend.

The plan was to spend three early mornings and two evenings with the fox family. After a fruitless early morning on Wednesday, my euphoria had turned into a slight fear. A fear that turned into reality on Friday. I sat at the den for 4 hours without the slightest sight of red fur. A closer inspection showed neither fresh prey remnants nor fresh fox excrement: the fox family had moved to another den!


Although I had been very careful all the time by keeping a good distance to the den and having a stiff wind blowing towards me, I assume the fox mum must have sniffed my presence and it clearly did not like the smell of me. With cubs that small, the whole household is moved to a safer location at the slightest feel of danger. I spent hours searching the terrain but could not find anything that even remotely resembled a fox den. I guess I have to accept that the foxy season will be limited to only one morning session this year. Hopefully better luck next year, when I will take even more caution in order to assure myself of more than one opportunity.

Willow Emerald Damselfly; Canon 5D Mark II w. 150/2.8 macro; 1/8000s at F4 and ISO200; handheld

Five Foxy Furs

A big relief, as all the trouble of last weeks has finally paid off! I wanted to visit the fox den I had found last week, because there were fresh prints and I had even heard sounds coming from the den. Faith decided otherwise, as I received a phonecall the night before from a ranger friend who had heard from a colleague about a den with cubs. I only received very broad directions, but good enough to change plans and give it a try. So I was out in the field at 5.30 with good hope for success. But: an hour later I had still not found the den. A bit disappointed I decided to search an adjacent, but less likely area before heading home. That's when I suddenly came across the den.


Prey remnants all over the place and still nice sunlight, so I put down the gear to choose a good spot to sit and wait for a while. I had not even turned my back when the first cub stared at me with a very inquisitive look on its face. We both froze at the sight of eachother and only when I moved to sit down did the cub flea into the den. It took another 30 minutes before it came back to enjoy the sun, but this time with no less than four siblings. I had two very pleasant hours with the five cubs and took lots of photographs and even shot some movie clips. They are still very small (about rabbit size) but will grow quickly without a doubt. I hope to spend lots more time with them before heading to Africa at the end of this month. And oh: later that morning I went to the den I had originally planned to visit. No prints or prey remnants and no sounds, so the phonecall came at exactly the right time!

Red Fox cubs; Canon 5D Mark II w. 500/4L IS and 1.4x; 1/640s at F5.6 and ISO200; tripod and camo cloth

Pretty Thing

Unfortunately still no good news about the fox project, at least not photo-wise. After a long and hot day of strolling through the bonedry heather, I could finally count my blessings as I found a den that is certainly inhabited. Not only were there lots of fresh prints in the sand, I even heard the youngsters growl underneath the surface. They did not feel the need to come out and play (yet). It seems my goal of taking photographs of very young cubs has failed, but I nonetheless look forward to enjoy watching and photographing mischievous adolescents, just like last year. Let's hope faith is with me in this one and I do get to see them in front of the lens.


That's no certainty at all, as the fox-mom is a wealthy one with no less than three dens, all some 50 meters apart. That leaves me with about 33% chance of being at the right site...I have seen better odds.

Putting all my eggs in one basket inadvertently means I have to forego all those other interesting subjects and I have the feeling spring has passed without me even knowing. Fortunately, I did get to photograph at least something last weekend. A friend called he had found little Tawny Owl (Strix aluco, Bosuil) owlets. I used my friends coat as a 'natural' frame for more interest and the feeling of peeking into the owlets world from the outside.

Tawny Owlet; Canon 5D Mark II w. 500/4L IS; 1/80s at F5.6 and ISO400; tripod

Outwitted

Still no photographic rewards for all the trouble I've been going through searching for and waiting at a couple of fox dens in the area.

It appears the most promising location has been 'cleared' by a local hunter, which makes me very, very angry. Not only because I think foxes are beautiful animals that are blamed for much more than they are really guilty of, but also (and mainly) because the den is situated in a conservation area that is a no-go area for an armed hunter! If I ever see one caught-in-the-act, I will not hesitate to photograph him and use the material to put him to shame.


On the way back home, I saw a Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus, Haas) rapidly run through a field to the right of my car. It carefully crossed the dustroad right in front of the car, only to increase speed again and cross a field to the left of the car. No chance for a photograph but a nice sighting anyway. I wanted to leave the spot when I saw another hare run towards the car, but still a good distance away. I reckoned it could well travel the same route as its friend. So I positioned myself in a dry ditch along the field to the left of the car. After several minutes, I saw two large ears some 20 meters to my right scan the surroundings. When everything seemed safe, the hare left cover and ran straight past my position, only some 18 meters away! This is where the 5DII shows its weakness: it features only 3 fps and the AF is terribly slow. Still, I managed to get a couple of sharp, fullframe shots. I am very happy to know I am able to outwit the average hare. Hopefully I'll be able to say the exact same about foxes during the next few weeks...

Brown Hare; Canon 5D Mark II w. 500/4L IS and 1.4x; 1/1250s at F5.6 and ISO400; handheld from ditch