Kangaroo on "guard duty"

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day all

The family group was resting in mid afternoon and this fella was standing and surveying the area around them

1)- Roos are somewhat amazing in that their ears can rotate from 'ahead' to about 150deg rear-sideways to detect noise from predators. You can see it here as one ear is listening following the eyes, while the other ear has picked up some noise from away to our right.


exif- Panny FZ-2500; 1/200s x F4,5; ISO-125; lens at 20x zoom / 480mm FFequiv

2)- crop from above as a portrait


As always, feedback welcome
Phil

[Isac]

I love to watch the kangaroos in the wild Phil. They are a fascinating and unique creature. Lovely capture of this one. As usual I did a shadows boost and the detail in its face is amazing.

[Ozzie_Traveller]

We both like the super-zoom lenses don't we!
Phil

[Ralph]

Great shots of this little one, they are great to see when out birding and I usually see them while out and try to capture a shot of them.
Very well done on these shots.

[Ozzie_Traveller]

Thanks mate
Phil

[wigz]

Nice and sharp Phil, but as Isac said, lifting the shadows on the face would improve it. A mob of them bounding across the plain is an impressive sight.

[Ozzie_Traveller]

Okay fellas - I've given it a look ...
Personally - like shadows and a tad of contrast as web-wise, images appear stronger with a bit of contrast

However, after Alan's prompting I have a) selected the animal and b) given it a 20% shadows lift

To me, while the fur now has lots of detail, it doesn't gel with the background ... which I do -not- want to highlight

Ralph - you be the judge here ... original or replacement??
Phil

[avkomp]

he does look to be on guard.
we got lots of kangaroos on here. most, if not all afternoons there are dozens of them down on the flat. the alpha male (I assume) is a massive bruiser. looks like he is on steroids or a gym junkie

[K1W1]

he does look to be on guard.

Yes must have been his turn to be designated lookout. Often when you see them during the day all of the group except one are lying down. It is quite common behaviour in animals that live in groups. We have a lot of Llamas and Alpacas around here and they are the same. If you watch for a while you will see the standing one sit down and another will instantly stand up as if by magic. It is quite fascinating how its works and how they communicate silently.

[avkomp]

lots of people have alpacas around here too, including the next door neighbour who has a few hundred. all we got is a few feral dorper sheep that run thru at times and goats the same