Giant Otters

whyone

whyone

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Ian
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Cuiaba RIver, northern Pantanal, Brazil.

Giant Otters all looked like they were possessed to me, but were a joy to behold and a nightmare to photograph!!!

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Variously eating Pleco, Barred and Spotted Sorubim
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Fantastic. I've only seen them in captivity and they're very impressive!
 
-Oy- said:
Fantastic. I've only seen them in captivity and they're very impressive!
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Yes, they are wonderful creatures.

They and Jaguar's do not see eye-to-eye and, if a Jaguar is swimming, a group of 5-6 Otters stand every chance of overwhelming the cat.
 
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Thank you kindly Dan...I struggled with these somewhat.

They are very fast moving and when they do settle, it tends to be in deep shade so getting the exposure something like right whilst keeping the shutter speed up to handle the moving boat and long lens pushed my limited talents.
 
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what gear did you use Ian what techs? ^^^^

whole series has been a wanted adventure that will never happen for me, TFS

stu
 
My pleasure Stuart.

.....getting to grips with the Canon R7 body I was given as a retirement present recently by my (former) employer, along with my trusty 100-400 ii L

Shutter generally ~1/1250 (possibly could have got away with slower, but the boat was continually moving and in a potentially one off opportunity, I didn't want to risk it) lens wide open (5.6) ISO high!! ~2500 all the way up to 6400.
 
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I, too, have only seen them in captivity, they are certainly impressive looking critters.

whyone said:
They and Jaguar's do not see eye-to-eye and, if a Jaguar is swimming, a group of 5-6 Otters stand every change of overwhelming the cat.
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I don't doubt that!
Well captured Ian
 
Saw them in the Peruvian Amazon about 25 years ago. Beautiful creatures.

That was during my longest time away from photography but, based on what I saw, I appreciate just how difficult they were to capture images of

Well done!
 
Thank you very much..........I push the hell out of my 1DXii Ian.here in blighty........................ would have definitely played the high ISO card probably gone further. Lol I made fox pics in our garden at night with little leds and crazy 16K ISO. I was told I could go there by someone I trust.took a while to figure it all though

I use Topaz denoise for NR.found that a game changer ( for me mate, in my little world. :D ) I find it bonkers what NR and a modern sensor can achieve 6400 doesn't seem high to me anymore and I'm pretty brutal with my own piccies. I stared at a 40K ISO image from an R3 the otherday,it was astounding

As I say bud I've loved seeing the pics of your adventure.you've shot under some real tricky light by the looks of things fair play(y) Also some of my fav species on the planet much to like !!

call me stu everyone does;)
 
Hey Stu!

I am still mentally stuck in a world of 35mm film and anything beyond ISO400 being a world of pain!!!

The fact that modern-ish cameras cope well with ISO 6400...let alone 40000....still astonishes me.

I very much enjoy reading your posts and seeing your photo's - I get a real sense of the time you put in and the very real affection you have for your subjects - keep making great pictures and posting words and photos here please!
 
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'ello mate :D Ian you and me both,I used to use film for making images for ref................... I splodge about with paint or used too.........,did so from a tot.

When I decided I wanted to replace the painting wild life life with toggin.............more time in't field........................I had real kiindness bestowed, by an astounding group of image makers. very early on.........they instilled this mindset of push ISO/push SS in me.......and 'cause their images were so amazing even I could see the sense in the wisdom they were tryiing to convey.they sort of gave me a no fear attitude which over read my previous dabblings with an SLR

the last bit, utterly unexpected and humblin'.lmao it's your thread dude we are meant to be talking your stuff;) Can I just say thank you very much waaay too kind.

and yes my madness here will continue. ............................... did you hear the sighs from our mods? :ROFLMAO:
 
Stuart Philpott said:
...

the last bit, utterly unexpected and humblin'.lmao it's your thread dude we are meant to be talking your stuff;) Can I just say thank you very much waaay too kind.

and yes my madness here will continue. ............................... did you hear the sighs from our mods? :ROFLMAO:
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It's my thread, I'll type what I want too!!!

Very pleased to hear that the madness will continue Stu!
 
Have a great trip John - look forward to seeing some photo's and hearing about your adventures upon your return.

Safe travels.
 
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A techy point I forgot to mention earlier - I used the animal AI autofocus on the R7 extensively in Brazil and was impressed with how well it locked onto...and held onto...the eyes of animals (including birds in flight).

However, I don't think Canon could have tested it on Giant Otters as, more often than not, it locked onto their ears!
 
Ian real interesting techy note.I wonder why the ears .do you think that is to do with shooting conditions .maybe the wet

John @nc_killie bit late terribly busy, and you may not see this untiil return but wishes of the most wonderful safe trip echoed by Ian hope you see many of your dream species bud

all the luck

stu
 
I'm not sure Stu....quite possibly low light and shiny-wet as you say, but also they are slightly odd looking beasties and I can understand why camera-cleverness/witchcraft might get confused with them....for example:

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Stuart Philpott said:
Ian real interesting techy note.I wonder why the ears .do you think that is to do with shooting conditions .maybe the wet

John @nc_killie bit late terribly busy, and you may not see this untiil return but wishes of the most wonderful safe trip echoed by Ian hope you see many of your dream species bud

all the luck

stu
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Cheers Stu. Waiting for tapir to appear as I write
 
Hi David.....yes, whilst we generally organise our own trips, on this occasion we booked with Naturetrek and spent about 12 days in the Pantanal. Our main objective was to spend some quality time in the company of Jaguar's, spending 8-9 hours a day for 5 of these on the Cuiaba river and its many channels. This is where we had our best Giant Otter sightings,

 
whyone said:
A techy point I forgot to mention earlier - I used the animal AI autofocus on the R7 extensively in Brazil and was impressed with how well it locked onto...and held onto...the eyes of animals (including birds in flight).

However, I don't think Canon could have tested it on Giant Otters as, more often than not, it locked onto their ears!
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Great bunch - would love to see these in the wild some day too.

Regarding focusing on ears - my Nikon also does this on Eurasian Otters, I guess the camera thinks the eyes should be there. It'll lock on dogs' eyes all the time, even when they're running round all over the place. It also gets confused by Puffins and Guillemots. Ducks, little brown jobs and any kind of gull-like creatures are no problem though.
 
crieffy said:
Great bunch - would love to see these in the wild some day too.

Regarding focusing on ears - my Nikon also does this on Eurasian Otters, I guess the camera thinks the eyes should be there. It'll lock on dogs' eyes all the time, even when they're running round all over the place. It also gets confused by Puffins and Guillemots. Ducks, little brown jobs and any kind of gull-like creatures are no problem though.
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They are great animals to watch - noisy and never still for a moment!

Interesting to hear that Otters also confuse Nikon's! I hope to photograph sea otters next year, so I'll check whether this is an otter-wide issue!!!
 
whyone said:
Hi David.....yes, whilst we generally organise our own trips, on this occasion we booked with Naturetrek and spent about 12 days in the Pantanal. Our main objective was to spend some quality time in the company of Jaguar's, spending 8-9 hours a day for 5 of these on the Cuiaba river and its many channels. This is where we had our best Giant Otter sightings,

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Love that photo!
 
whyone said:
They are great animals to watch - noisy and never still for a moment!

Interesting to hear that Otters also confuse Nikon's! I hope to photograph sea otters next year, so I'll check whether this is an otter-wide issue!!!
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Mine was ok with the Sea Otters - mind you, it got a bit confused when there was around 50 of them in the viewfinder :) Lovely looking animals
 
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