Desert Cottontail nibbling on dew laden grass – Nikon D810, f13, 1/500, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
After a few rainy days last week I was able to go to Antelope Island State Park and photograph this Desert Cottontail nibbling on dew laden grasses. The pink specular highlights (spots) in this image are Redstem Filaree blooms and the yellow ones are from the blooms of Black Mustard at the base of a sagebrush. Some people don’t like the bright specular highlights and will clone them out or using a brush to tone them down but they are what they are and I won’t bother to “fix” them because I don’t feel they need fixing.
I have found it challenging to photograph the Desert Cottontails and the Black-tailed Jackrabbits on Antelope Island State Park because they are usually very skittish and take off as soon as I can get focused on them so I was pleased that this one stayed calm and allowed me to take a wonderful series of images of it.
Life is good.
Mia
Patty beat me to it. Love those wet ears. And the ‘laxing pose.
I love it too!
Beautiful portrait of one of my favorite animals. At Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site (where we volunteer) some of the Desert Cottontails are quite tame and will let us watch them. Jackrabbits, when we see them, are always on the move, so I’ve not been able to get any photos of them. I think we’re usually driving when we see them and my camera is never handy then…
Great shot! You can tell the grass was wet by how wet his ears are…