A coyote pauses for a break from hunting mice in a grassy meadow of the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Parks, CA....
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A coyote pauses for a break from hunting mice in a grassy meadow of the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate National Parks, CA.
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the Marin Headlands section of Golden Gate National Park, outside Sausalito in the San Francisco Bay Area of central California.Time
I was finishing an early afternoon hike just a little after 2 PM in late January when I encountered this beautiful coyote calmly hunting in the thick green grass.Lighting
As is usually the case in this area on the central CA coast this time of year, the day was overcast with clouds and the usual thick fog providing a very flat, even light.Equipment
I shot this image with a Canon 5D and Canon 100-400 f/4.5 L lens, freehand with no flash.Inspiration
While I lived in the Marin Headlands I tried to find something interesting to photograph every day and hiked almost daily in search of interesting animals, plants and views (and to avoid finishing my dissertation ;)). I rarely had nice opportunities to capture good images of coyotes even though I would often see them. This was an exception when this beautiful coyote calmly continued her hunting once she confirmed I was no threat. Coyotes and lots of other animals in this park are often habituated to humans having lost any natural fear, which actually endangers them because tourists and other people may foolishly give them food and create human-wildlife conflict. Because of that issue I actually left her much sooner than I would have liked.Editing
I like to leave most of my images as natural as possible and here just slightly adjusted the tones.In my camera bag
Because I normally focus on shooting wildlife I typically carry just my 5D- now a MkIV- and one telephoto zoom lens, either Canon 100-400 L or Tamron 150-600. Most days I prefer to be light but sometimes carry my old 5D (or 20D) as back-up. When I'm out to shoot wildlife I don't even bother to carry a wide angle lens as my pocket Canon Powershot and even my Lumia phone can both shoot raw files. I do sometimes use a short lens for landscapes and close-ups and love my Slik tripod, but rarely have the opportunity to use it. I also toy with a circular polarizer sometimes but otherwise have no experience with filters.Feedback
Like most of my photos, there isn't anything particularly challenging about getting an image like this- it is just about keeping one's eyes open and looking for a nice composition. When I have time to think, not always the case with wildlife, I try to pay attention to the background and really build a shot from back to front. Most often though it's just a combination of being in the right place at the right time, with some decent kit- and having some patience and knowing a little about animal behavior and anticipating how and where they might move.