Coyote on the shore of the Great Salt Lake – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1/1000, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 280mm, natural light, not baited
Photographing with a partner often pays off in good ways, sometimes. Yesterday I went back out to Antelope Island State Park for the third day in a row. The speed limit on the causeway to the island is 55 mph so sometimes I see birds or animals just about the time I pass them on the road.
Yesterday I spotted a Coyote on the south side of the causeway and said “Stop, stop”. We couldn’t stop right away because there was a vehicle right behind us so we had passed the coyote by quite a bit by the time we could stop and turn back and in that time the coyote crossed the road to the north side of the causeway. Jackpot!
It would have been very challenging to photograph the coyote on the south side of the causeway because of the angle of the light but the north side works out great.
Coyote looking towards the east – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited
I spent a few minutes photographing the Coyote in the early morning light as it walked and stood on the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake. The water level is up from where it was last year so the coyote stayed close to the road so we were able to photograph the coyote in many different poses. This one still has its winter coat but before long it will shed it for the sleeker summer coat. The color of their eyes is beautiful any time of day but the rising sun sure makes them even more lovely.
I’m hoping I can find a den this year so we can photograph the pups, from a safe and ethical distance of course. I never want to disturb or disrupt animals or birds, especially when they have young.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my Coyote photos plus facts and information about this species.
That second “portrait” is just beautiful Mia!! Were these handheld? and I can’t remember are you an auto-focus user or are these manual focus??
Garen,
I do use auto focus almost all the time. These were not on a tripod, I came up with an idea for a “noodle” that fits over the vehicle window that pads the window and the lens. I just rest the lens on the noodle.