Coyote and Raven
Mar, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this picture during the salmon downstream of the Coquitlam dam in British Columbia, Canada. Both the raven and the coyote were actually on the dam itself.Time
We had just completed a salmon survey with my colleague and I decided to stay in the watershed for a bit longer, as I usually do, to take pictures of the bald eagles or any kind of wildlife I see. It was around 5pm on November 14, 2011 when I took this picture. We can see some snow on the trees in the background.Lighting
The coyote and the raven are actually slightly backlit as the sun was very close to set behind the mountains. I got the last bit of light on that day. The mountain and snow covered trees are in the shade already in the background.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 300mm f/4 lens. I also used a Vanguard tripod.Inspiration
While waiting patiently to take some pictures of bald eagles feeding on salmon carcasses, I noticed a coyote walking slowly on top of the dam. I was standing at the bottom of the dam, behind my car and it likely didn't see me. I hadn't noticed the raven feeding on a salmon carcass but the coyote flushed it as it started running towards the bird. I saw afterwards that the raven had a salmon tail in its beak.Editing
I never do a lot of post processing on my images. I had to crop this picture quite a bit as the animals were far away from where I was standing. I slightly played with the contrast and saturation but otherwise, it's pretty much as I saw it.In my camera bag
I usually travel pretty light and only carry a couple of lenses, my tripod and a remote. I use the 300mm f/4 as my primary lends for wildlife shots. It's on my 7D 90% of the time. I recently tried to expand my horizons with a Canon 10-18mm wide angle lens for landscapes.Feedback
Patience and luck! I go to this site many times a year to do salmon surveys for work and I try to bring my photo gear as often as I can. Most of the times, there is not much to see or take picture of but I have seen bobcats, bears, eagles, deer, ravens (...) out there. We can't really ask a bald eagle to catch a fish in front of us or a raven and a coyote to pose for the same picture... I always shoot wildlife with the highest burst rate setting on my camera and the highest speed possible. Sometimes it's the only way you can capture wildlife as the animals seem to always be on the move in an unpredictable manner.
