Dall sheep lambs, Brooks range, Alaska. Canon 5D Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, w/1.4x (700mm), 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400.
The first few weeks of June in Alaska is the time when the newborn animals of the year begin showing up. They are pure cuteness in most respects, and they are also very susceptible to hungry predators as the circle of life takes its course in the wilderness landscape. For the latter, it means that adults with young ones tend to be more wary and alert, sometimes making photography more difficult. These three young dall sheep lambs chose to rest along the steep slopes of the Brooks range mountains, while the adults descended to a grassy patch along the tundra to graze. This image is cropped a bit, and I would have used a 2x converter instead of the 1.4x, however the 5D III will not auto focus with a 2x converter on the 500mm. What a shame Canon, you revamped the auto focus and upped the price of the 5D III by one grand but left it dumb in this one critical area. Yes, I know there is always manual focus, but my eyes and execution of this have not produced good results so far, static objects are a bit easier for sure but critical focus in manual mode is harder than one might imagine.
