Let me take my nap, stupid tourist! Photo

Photographer’s Note

When I posted the deer the other day, I went looking for my rare photos of animals and I stumbled on this one. I was also surprised to find only 3 posts of this place here [1, 2, 3], because as far as I know it is included in most of the standard tourist package circuit of Cuba.

I shot this in a crocodile farm located in the natural reserve of Ciénaga (swamp) de Zapata. Most probably this animal is of the species of Cuban crocodile. However, they also breed American crocodiles in the farm, so I can't be sure.

Although that isn't apparent in the photo, the animals were very well camouflaged in the dark shadows under the bushes and only after we spotted this one we began noticing that we had been walking very close to dozens of crocodiles, having just a wire fence not much taller than 1 meter between us and them. They were all so still and quiet that they look like being dead. I took only this photograph because the noise of the shutter must have scared the animal, who suddenly jumped opening his mouth, giving me one of the scariest moments of my life. I kept saying to myself and my companions that I hadn't been in real danger, as they are too heavy, they lack the agility to reach me and the people from the farm wouldn't risk to let tourists, the most stupid species on Earth, stroll freely offering their hands, arms or noses as a variation of the daily diet of their pets. However, until today I am not sure of that. The fact is that we were the only tourists that ventured away from the souvenir shops by the beautiful lake and from that moment I kept a safe distance from the fence. If you look carefully, you see that I had to be very close to the animal, 2 meters at the most, because I was using a 50mm lens and the DOF only covers the area of the neck.

Cuban crocodile is an endangered species that is found only here, in the nearby Isla (isle) de la Juventud (formerly known as Isla de los Pinos) and Florida. In the latter places it was introduced artificially, but it is thought that the species existed in many places throughout the Caribbean, the Bahamas and South Florida. Most of the animals are kept in captivity, like it is the case of the one we see here. It is the smallest species of crocodile, the most terrestrial and probably the most intelligent.

The farm is a couple of Kms South of the little town of Jaguey Grande and not far from Playa Girón, made famous by the attempted invasion of Bay of Pigs that took place in April 1961, in which some hundred anti-Castro Cuban militiamen with a not so decided support of CIA that proved quite ineffective, were defeated in 3 days by the troops directly commanded by Fidel Castro.

Location (latitude, longitude): 22.3695,-81.1635

Docarmo, ribeiroantonio, zeynepe, jhm, Romatou, xuaxo, paura, JCG, emilbo, jaywalker, riclopes, shevchenko has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Docarmo (8814) 2009-05-16 20:11

Olá José,
Chegaste mesmo muito perto e ainda por cima irritaste o bicho ;-) A tua descrição do ocorrido foi perfeita, visualizei a cena com tal realismo que tomei um susto daqui de longe ;-)
A nota está um show!
Parabéns!
Docarmo

ribeiroantonio (21823) 2009-05-16 20:25

Eu certamente não me teria aventurado dessa maneira. Aqui na Austrália há imensos casos de gente a ser atacada por crocodilos e muitas fatalidades também. São uns animais bastante ágeis e rápidos.
Quanto à foto, vale pelo aspecto documentário. Tirando isso, tem pouca definição e as cores aprecem um bocado forçadas.
António

berek (28838) 2009-05-16 21:07

Hi Jose,
its so dangers my friend. you must be careful for this kind of moment. only 2 second enough to attack. thanks for note.
have a nice Sunday.
Burak

izmirli (3001) 2009-05-16 23:33

merhaba my friend jose
how are you;?
wonderful lovely animal.excellent composition and colours.well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

zeynepe (9342) 2009-05-16 23:36

I am so jealous Jose... I don't have any kind of crocodile shot.I like especially big nile crocodiles.And in this shot he looks very furious...as if any moment now he's going to explode :) And I think his camouflage looks very effective, too.
Congrats and enjoy your weekend,
Zeynep

anto95 (1794) 2009-05-17 13:37

Hi Jose,
This is very great moment for take a very nice picture!
Antonello

vincz (19039) 2009-05-17 14:02

Scary.... very scary. Ce rendu tout special quasi metallique sortant des herbes n'arrange pas la chose, je m'aimerais pas me trouver en sa presence. Une belle image.

jhm (82155) 2009-05-18 3:23

Olá José,

A old picture, excellent scanned, the colours are very real.
Sharpness and clarity are superb, also very good soft contrast image.
Very well done, TFS.

Warmest regards,
John.

ElAprendiz (7370) 2009-05-18 19:15

Ja Ja Ja... que buen titulo para esta toma, Jose.

Aunque la foto es demasiado antiguo, guarda las caracteristicas de una gran toma. La actitud desafiante del lagarto, frente al fotografo, es connotado.

Buen encuadre y adecuados colores que aun se conservan.

Saludos mi amigo, John

sagar (2307) 2009-05-19 12:09

Hi Jose,
This is almost like the ones we see in the Crocodile Hunter series. Were you really that close? or, you zoomed it? Whatever it may be- its a scary shot, I must admit. the croc doesnt look very happy while being shot! I appreciate your caourage. Had it been me, I would scream and run for life :-)
Regards,
Sagarneel.

Romatou (1375) 2009-05-19 12:23

Alors , on fait guili-guili à la jolie bébête ? ;-))) , tu prends des risques pour tes photos ,c'est bien ! tu as quand même su garder le sens du cadrage pour la photo ... enfin pour UNE photo ! ;-)

L'image est belle , malgré les conditons difficiles : lumière ... et peut-être autre chose !

Amitiés ,
François.

xuaxo (5683) 2009-05-20 9:05

Olá José,
Vê-se pela imagem que não foi fácil focar o bicho, no entanto faz-me lembrar as (melhores) fotos tipo National Geographic.
A história, que assim à distância até tem uma certa piada, fez-me lembrar os alligators do Kennedy Space Center, em Cape Canaveral, que também andam por lá assim demasiado perto dos visitantes (tenho uma foto velhinha).
Cumprimentos,
Francisco

paura (38176) 2009-05-21 4:37

José,
Penso que deve ter sido difícil os ajustes em pp para conseguir esse bom resultado aqui. Bonita fotografia.

Abraço

Paulo

Bluejeans (31963) 2009-05-22 6:13

Oi amigo ,
Estás um Indiana Jones :) gostei da foto deste croc no meio da selva , bonitos as plantas vermelhas e verdes , acho que a definição está boa devido ao ponto de focagem estar no primeiro plano se não estou enganado ?, gostei do fundo defocado deu profundiade de foto , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

danyy (68422) 2009-05-22 12:20

Bonjour Jose,
une photo peu rassurante et dans des couleurs qui manquent un peu de chaleur, je les trouve fort bleutées.
Une bonne utilisation de la DOF réduite.
Regards.
Daniel.

sunamoon (5057) 2009-05-24 9:23

Hola Jose,

Impresionante animal! los colores vivos y la definición es buena, buen momento!!!!

Un saludo,
Elena

JCG (25089) 2009-05-25 11:34

Bonsoir José,

Attention aux doigts même si cette sorte de caïman semble plutôt tranquille, ils ont la détente facile. Je trouve que l'animal sur cet environnement plutôt sombre ressort bien. Coup d'oeil intéressant, bien vu José et merci pour la note détaillée et instructive sur cette espèce.

Avec toutes mes amitiés et une très bonne soirée,

Jean-Charles

emilbo (9267) 2009-05-26 16:14

Olà Jose!
Magnifique prise de vue et je crois qu'il vaut mieux ne pas le réveiller. La dernière fois que j'en ai vue c'était au Costa Rica lors d'une excursion sur la RIvière Nicoya. Les conditions d'éclairage n'étaient pas pour le mieux mais j'aime bien ta composition et les couleurs.
Tous mes compliments,
Amicalement,
Emilius

jaywalker (12190) 2009-05-28 13:36

Hi Jose, WOW, What a wonderful picture of this amazing animal, it looks like it is about to jump up & eat your camera, just as well you spotted it before it spotted you, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

riclopes (32951) 2009-05-31 1:40

Olá José, às vezes acho que devia estar no TN pois adoro fotos de bichos selvagens. Até parece que te deparaste com este assutador crocodilo enquanto passeavas na floresta. Que cabeçorra! A luz devia ser escassa mas felizmente apanhaste um bom raio de sol sobre aquelas escamas o que me parece ser o grande bónus desta foto. A qualidade do scan é muito bom mais uma vez.
um abraço,
ricardo

shevchenko (9854) 2009-05-31 22:52

Hello Jose,
Interesting composition to show a crocodile with unique color and patterns, look very natural just like in original habitat and without the feel shooting in the farm, well done.
Ally