nature Juvenile Alligator Up Close and Personal On My Belly Nikon N-65

Juvenile Alligator. I found this one lying next to a pond. It was

young, only about 4 feet long. He was very scared so I had to

approach on my belly.

The lighting isn't perfect- The sky was partly cloudy. The sun

would peek through the clouds and throw my exposure to the extremes

in both directions.

When is the best time to photograph animals such as this? When I

wait for the evening time the dark colors of the animal cause my

photos to lose definition and detail. Conversely, sharp light gives

me bright spots on the skin.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Composition- wise, it looks really good, but what could be improved is focus on the eye (in my opinion), it looks a bit blurry, maybe you had no time to position yourself (can imagine that :) )

Anyways, good shot! Keep up!

I agree with the comment about, should be wider.

On the other hand I've noticed the same about photography in the evening, and this after somebody told it is better to take photos in the evening (but he wasn't using film, he used digital, and the camera was set to the equivalent of 800 ISO). The effect looked for, no shadows, can be got better on a cloudy day, if there is no sky to catch (otherwise the sky will look washed out, and white).

regards

Maria