Overview and initial images posted from the VLF competition can be found in this post:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/33467-random-set-images-...irst-post.html

and this subsequent post:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/33849-vlf-photos-k20d-fa...files-1mb.html

Taken with the K20D+FA* 300/2.8. I believe the Tamron 1.4x Pz-AF TC was used in the 2nd and 3rd images... no cropping allowed. This is Division II - Mammals... the first 3 images have never been seen anywhere except by the judges.

Javelina searching for food - I liked the symmetry of the lines in this image:


Another Javelina image - also searching for food:


African Plains Zebras:


Already shown -- cleaned up slightly and exposure adjustments made. This is an African Eland - perhaps 30-40 feet away from me...


I hope you enjoy them! I'll post another set taken with the Canon system sometime soon.

Cheers,
Marc

[Wombat]

Wonderful shots. I particularly like the eland. The detail you achieved from 30-40 feet away is outstanding and you just can't beat the breathtaking impact when a wild animal looks you straight in the eye.

[Marc Langille]

The Zebra's are awaesome Marc. All hgreat shots. JIMBO

Thanks Jimbo! It was quite a shock to see these wild animals in TX...

I agree, the zebra shot is very good. The first shot of the javeina is pretty special as well.
Nice ones Marc.
Gary

Much appreciated Gary - I'll try to oblige with a few others sometime soon. The Javelinas are quite funny at times - they can almost sound like a dog letting out a low bark!

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

These are fantastic shots,especially the zebras, as if they pop out of my monitor. Thanks for sharing Marc.

Cheers,

Rene

Thanks Rene!! I may oblige and post a larger crop of the zebras.

I like the bokeh surrounding the Eland.

Thank you - much appreciated. That was taken after sunset. One of my favs...

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

wicked nice shoots..

Thank you! The memories I had of watching these animals is amazing.

Wow, Great shots Marc. Love them all. Saw the last one before, really really nice.

Thanks Frank! I hope everyone is well where you are?

There is more to come, so stayed tuned!

Cheers,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

I love when I get to see some of your images from your trip Marc. It is really exciting for me. I appreciate you taking the time to post them here. The zebras really pop off the image and the last shot is just perfect. Excellent work all the way around Marc.

Thank you LaRee - you appreciation for my work is very kind of you! It's my hope that folks can see that by applying yourself, results will follow...

I am going to dig into my storage drives sometime soon, pull up the TIFF and/or JPEGS, and try to bring out a couple of crops for the sole purpose of showing the image clarity.

To be honest, it took me longer than I expected (going through submissions) because I HAD to pixel peep, to ensure technical excellence was there. It was very time consuming... especially wading through 142 GB of RAW images... it took me a full 3 days (8-10+ hours each day) to verify I didn't miss a potential submission... So I guess I can say I've learned a little bit about workflow...

Cheers,
Marc

[Peter Zack]

Again Marc, these are stunning shots. Couldn't pick one from the others. All well taken. Sharp as a tack. Looks like you did very well with your opportunities in Texas.

A zebra in Texas?

Robin, you're probably old enough to remember the tv series 'Cowboy in Africa'.
This is the long awaited sequel.
Gary

[Marc Langille]

Great shots. My favorite is the Elan. Well done.

Great work, must have been exciting capturing them

Thank you both for the kind words! The PPG didn't think the Eland image was worthy...

Cheers,
Marc

[marcusyoung]

that image on Zebra is beautifully captured.

marcus

[Marc Langille]

A zebra in Texas?

They are wild, and definitely now a native...

Wow, that's one hell of a sharp lens.

I need to show you some crops to really show how that the lens clarity is truly amazing...

Thanks to both of you for looking!

Regards,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Another excellent series Marc - feels like I was there. Wow great shots - they pop even the web sized ones I can only imagine a full blow up.

Thank you Dave - I'll try to oblige sometime soon on the full sized images!

As always, great shots. Hope you paid that grackle. I think that's what he was sqawking about.

JMR

Thanks JMR! Yes, he looked peeved, didn't he...

Cheers,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Wonderful shots. I particularly like the eland. The detail you achieved from 30-40 feet away is outstanding and you just can't beat the breathtaking impact when a wild animal looks you straight in the eye.

Thank you very much Wombat! The Eland is a favorite of mine. The voters liked it, the judges didn't on PPG...

I went back to scout the area where I took the photo, and I still cannot believe how close I really was. I do have some shots that I could only get it's head in the photo.... I was REALLY, REALLY CLOSE... maybe 15-20 feet.... However, it was dusk - quite dark and therefore a grainy image, not very sharp either.

Cheers,
Marc

[Peter Zack]

PPG doesn't make a lot of sense anymore Marc. I think you have to stuff other than wildlife and landscape/scenics now to get in most of the time. Really how many Elan's are going to get submitted 5 maybe? Then how many that good? 1 and that was yours. So it's a unique shot to be sure as well as being very well taken.

You said "the voters liked it". Do you mean here and DPR? or do you somehow know the PPG results?

[Marc Langille]

Again Marc, these are stunning shots. Couldn't pick one from the others. All well taken. Sharp as a tack. Looks like you did very well with your opportunities in Texas.

Thanks Peter! I should dig up the Zebra image and crop it at close to 100% for everyone's reference.

BTW, I got the letter today, and it just tells me what I already know... I have at least one image that has placed....

Cheers,
Marc

[Marc Langille]

Several of you asked about a larger image of the pair of Zebras, so here you go...