Gator
Hi Y'all,
Besides birds the one thing the Viera Wetlands has is gators. Usually they are a poor subject because they just lay there and look pretty like this guy
a tad closer
:snore typical gator stuff. They wil usually lay there until thye notice you and then they will dash into the water and submerge. This guy had a different reaction
after this all the gators went back to theri regular routine
Besides birds the one thing the Viera Wetlands has is gators. Usually they are a poor subject because they just lay there and look pretty like this guy
a tad closer
:snore typical gator stuff. They wil usually lay there until thye notice you and then they will dash into the water and submerge. This guy had a different reaction
after this all the gators went back to theri regular routine
Harry
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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Comments
How is that???
Great captures! Talk about taking risks for what you love. Hopefully he's not quite as close as he looks. #4 is a fantastic looking shot.
Michael
Great shots of the Gator. I see he tried to camouflage himself with that grass on his head. The GATORS we have up here in Gainesville submerge themsevles in brew not water.
Almost as cute as a racoon!
Very nice set, Harry.
Thanks Michael. Gators are known for their fastidiness about their dental hygiene , hence the white teeth. :bs
I was using my 80-400 for these shots and I was standing behind my car so I was a safe distance away.
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Thanks for sharing.
Dick.
Thomas Fuller.
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Website.
Harry
Nice series here. Well photographed with good exposure and pin sharp as I would expect. Thanks for sharing. Ian
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Thanks Howard. It sounds like your GATORS are more fun.
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I'm pretty sure I would be in the car with it running.
Dave
Golly Ric you should know better than that. There's nothing as cute as a
rabid racoon.
Thanks.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Hmmm.... Maybe I should go on an all-fish-and-bird-and-small-dog diet and see if the coffee stains go away...
Wonderful shots! Sounds like you got as close as I would want to also - ha. Next time maybe you could reach over and remove the piece of moss first. roflrofl
Geeezz Harry you get the best of everything down your way don't ya <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/eek7.gif" border="0" alt="" >
Best Birds, Best Gators, Best Storms < -- had to throw that one in <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/rolleyes1.gif" border="0" alt="" >
Now that would just be so cool to take pics of Gators .... ya lucky buggar !
Great Stuff Harry ........ Skippy (Australia)
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:skippy Everyone has the right to be stupid, but some people just abuse the privilege :dgrin
Respect is the right word. Every year there are stories about folks getting chomped by these guys and its usually because they felt the gator was a Disney extra and not a wild animal. My favorite was the tourst who tried to feed a gator by hand and got surprised when the agtor couldn't tell the difference between the food and her hand and chomped down on her hand.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Cool shots. Those teeth are definitely not to be played with.
Thanks you very much Ian
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
In McHenry County, Il. where I lived most of my adult life there has not been a report of rabies in over a century....and the place is crawling with them critters.
And....they won't bite your leg off either!
Thank you Awais.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Don't get me started on critters. Hell, its too late you got me started.
Raccoons: They tear up your garbage and make a general mess of things; we were all excited over at the wetlands when the caracaras built a nest their until the raccoons raided the nest and the caracaras moved out :pissed ; they are infected with rabies in other parts of he country. Hell if we could invade Iraq looking for mythical WMDs we could at least do something about raccoons.
Rabbits: I loved rabbits until i paid $3K to upgrade my landscaping. I'm sitting back enjoying a Corona and what do I see. I see a frigging rabbit lunching on my $3k landscaping. I buy some foul smelling crap at a ridiculous price to spray on my landscaping that will keep rabbits and deer away. I spray the foul smelling crap on the landscaping and got enough on me to ruin my sex life for the next few days. I sit back, enjoy my Corona and what do i see? Its that frigging rabbit munching on my now foul smelling landscaping. I go up to the screen and yell at it and it doesn't move even though I'm inches away from it. It only moves when I go outside and start throwing rocks at it. My next purchase is a shotgun. :rambo
Squirrels: Rodents, need I say more.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks and my car was running the whole time
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Do you ever film them eating?
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We have gators all over the place down here. I haven't seen any babies yet and would love to shoot some of them.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks and if the gator was happy with that piece of moss I wasn't going to change a thing.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
We do have lots of photo ops down here. Fortunately we haven't had any big storms yet this year. I just bought some hurricane shields and I want to see how they work out.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Harry.....you make my guts hurt!!!
I understand the rabbit part alright. My wife thought they were so cute...until we were sitting out back last night (MGD Light here) and she saw one eating the buds off her favorite flowering vine. Now I can safely have at him!
Seriously, though, it's all some folks will ever get decent shot of....:oogle
Thanks Chris and it is unusual to see them moving in the daylight. They come up on the banks in the daytime to sun themselves and they hunt at night.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks. The only time I got shots of them feeding was at the Alligator Farm. They hunt at night so it would be tough to get a shot.
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How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
When a gator decides it wants something for lunch, it moves VERY fast for 6 -12 feet. Faster than humans can run, for instance.
I saw one while we were at the Florida shoot that came 10 feet up the embankment in the blink of an eye. That will get your pulse up fer sure!!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Wow -I learned something new! I didn't know that they are nocturnal predators... :
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Gators can move extremely fast. I will always remember the first time I shot one. It was laying on the bank so I got out of the car took a few shots and then moved in closer, took some more shots and moved in closer. Just as I was getting ready to get my macro lens out the gator spun around and ran into the water. He moved so fast I couldn't even get a shot off. Then it hit me that if he had opted to move towards me rather than away from me he would had been on me in a flash and there would have been noting I could had done about it. I have always exercised much more care when shooting gators since that time.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"