Rare captures

[Robert S]

I was looking through some old photos today. Amateurs are able to get photos of things today that were not possible thirty years ago. Professional wildlife photographers combine two things. They have technical skills and are able to spend months chasing the 'perfect shot'. I watched a doco about birds of paradise. A guy [ with help ] built a hide high in the jungle canopy to get photos. Not something the average tourist with a camera could do. Anyway with so many people taking so many photographs it is possible to get a rare capture.
Have you captured something rare?
My example is a Kookaburra with a young Red Bellied Black snake. I have another of a Kookaburra with a rodent. I have seen a Kookaburra with a rodent twice, but only once have I seen a Kookaburra with a snake.
EOS 400D Tamron AF 200-400mm [ 390mm ] f10 1/500 sec ISO 250 Date taken Oct 2011

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Please post your rare images.​

 

[Doug Herr]

What professional wildlife photographers do is spend a lot of time marketing photos (and related income streams).

IDK how rare this photo is but it would have been very difficult without modern technology and a lot of dumb luck.

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BTW I prefer to think of it as a photograph rather than a capture.

 

[takeallthesunset]

What professional wildlife photographers do is spend a lot of time marketing photos (and related income streams).

IDK how rare this photo is but it would have been very difficult without modern technology and a lot of dumb luck.

View attachment 86545

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BTW I prefer to think of it as a photograph rather than a capture.

woooww!! this looks sick, amazing!

 

[takeallthesunset]

I was looking through some old photos today. Amateurs are able to get photos of things today that were not possible thirty years ago. Professional wildlife photographers combine two things. They have technical skills and are able to spend months chasing the 'perfect shot'. I watched a doco about birds of paradise. A guy [ with help ] built a hide high in the jungle canopy to get photos. Not something the average tourist with a camera could do. Anyway with so many people taking so many photographs it is possible to get a rare capture.
Have you captured something rare?
My example is a Kookaburra with a young Red Bellied Black snake. I have another of a Kookaburra with a rodent. I have seen a Kookaburra with a rodent twice, but only once have I seen a Kookaburra with a snake.
EOS 400D Tamron AF 200-400mm [ 390mm ] f10 1/500 sec ISO 250 Date taken Oct 2011

View attachment 86544

Please post your rare images.​

This sight is really rare indeed to see.

 

[Doug Herr]

Another photo made with a lot of dumb luck, a North American River Otter diving into a pond. Modern technology would have reduced the luck factor because I'd have had animal eye AF and a frame rate > 2 fps available.

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[raptor photo]

Mountain lion. Of course not a good picture but nothing I could do!

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[Robert S]

Mountain lion. Of course not a good picture but nothing I could do!
View attachment 86561

Depends how you judge 'good photo'. I rekon it's good.

 

[RikWriter]

This lynx in Denali is about the rarest thing I've captured.

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[arbitrage]

Hard to know what really is rare out there.

Is a coot and a harrier having a pissing match rare? Maybe...I've only seen it the once.
Is capturing the moment the KF beak hits the water but hasn't disturbed the water yet rare? Maybe...but I've managed it a couple times with 30FPS

Just two photos I thought of off the top of my head....

October 23, 2021-3.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

July 01, 2022.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

 

[MMoretti]

I captured this (rare-to-me…) black rhino in Namibia last year. He appeared from the shrubbery and in minutes he was gone again. I’ll be back there later this year, this time with longer glass… and on alert for a pangolin!

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[thelordofthelight]

I have been fortunate to witness and photograph some rare wildlife events but if i will have to pick one, this would be it..had this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a Short-toed Snake eagle take on a huge Indian Spectaled Cobra.

8506346 by Ganesh B, on Flickr

 

[raptor photo]

I have been fortunate to witness and photograph some rare wildlife events but if i will have to pick one, this would be it..had this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a Short-toed Snake eagle take on a huge Indian Spectaled Cobra.

8506346 by Ganesh B, on Flickr

Hey I saw this picture in the Birds of Instagram book! Great shot

 

[thelordofthelight]

Thank you so much!

Hey I saw this picture in the Birds of Instagram book! Great shot

 

[TurtleCat]

My rarest capture: A hooded crane (the only one that was known in the wild in the US), sandhill crane, and whooping crane in the same pic at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. Not a great image because I had to shoot from very far away. Fixed it up a little in Topaz.

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[Rassie]

Another photo made with a lot of dumb luck, a North American River Otter diving into a pond. Modern technology would have reduced the luck factor because I'd have had animal eye AF and a frame rate > 2 fps available.

View attachment 86560​

I love this shot. Have you tried cropping it portrait orientation to fill the frame with just the otter and its reflection? That would make an awesome image, if you have the pixels available.

 

[ScrimshawPhotography]

I have my one in a million shot, and I don’t dare try to recreate it

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[MMoretti]

Yes, that one!

 

[CCMDoc]

Thank you for sharing these inspiring, incredible, wonderful photos.

 

[Robert S]

Thanks everyone for sharing your photos.

 

[BarkingBeans Coffee]

My rare shot isn't exotic, but rather it's right at home and why it makes me smile. Gila monsters are rare to see at all. I haven't seen one the last two years at home, but this one graced me with his presence at our house back in 2020. When seen, my wife and I consider the day a blessing.

 

[Maurie_S]

Here is my contribution, a 3 headed Spoonbill. Quite a large crop !!!

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[lisam]

I have my one in a million shot, and I don’t dare try to recreate it View attachment 86606

I love this Armadillo shot, it is my favourite so far out of all the ones that have been posted.

 

[ssheipel]

I have been fortunate to witness and photograph some rare wildlife events but if i will have to pick one, this would be it..had this once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a Short-toed Snake eagle take on a huge Indian Spectaled Cobra.

8506346 by Ganesh B, on Flickr

Wow! Without exaggeration that's photo of the year material!

 

[thelordofthelight]

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Wow! Without exaggeration that's photo of the year material!

 

[Hawkeshead]

Head to Head
We were out looking a pride of lions in Mara North Conservancy in the Masai Mara, Kenya when we came across the carcass of a hippo that had died two days previously. The head and neck had been picked clean but the weigh of the hide prevented the lions, jackals and hyenas from getting into the body through the neck or ripping the skin . This lioness showing both incredible optimism and a degree of ingenuity decided to try to pull the skeleton and meat out. After a valiant struggle the lioness had to admit defeat but it was fun to photograph.

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This was the lioness after that battle, it certainly took its toll

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