Motherly affection

The relationship between capybara mothers and their pups is very sweet. Even though this largest of all rodents looks like a big rat, I guess rats have feelings, too. I shot this from the low-profile boat we used in the Pantanal which allowed us low-angled perspectives. That makes all the difference because the portraits of animals appear to be more intimate than if you're shooting down on them. I used a Canon 100-500mm zoom for this picture, and the settings were 1/1000, f/6.3, and 2500 ISO. Now I err on the side of shutter speeds faster than one might deem necessary only because I'm tired of pictures that are 'almost' sharp. Plus, the movement of the boat magnifies the movement seen in the viewfinder, and a fast speed is required to insure sharp images.