Family Time by myautofocuslife

Family Time

Imagine my surprise when, while walking a reservoir trail for the first time yesterday, I encountered a family of wild monkeys, right on the boardwalk!

The large male was grooming the female monkey while she nursed her baby.

I only had my macro lens, but I squatted down as close as I dared and fired off as many shots as I could. I was so excited and intent that, I didn't even realize I had not readjusted the settings on my camera. Which means the shots were incorrectly exposed. I salvaged them as best I could in post processing because I really want to add at least one shot to my album. Hopefully this doesn't look too much of a mess. XD

It was such a memorable encounter! 8D

Fantastic! Fav.
October 21st, 2012  
And a splendid shot to go with the memory! What a wonderful experience to have!
October 21st, 2012  
Definitely fantastic. FAV for sure.
October 21st, 2012  
Wonderful shot, how lovely to find them on your walk :)
October 21st, 2012  
Looks great from my computer!
October 21st, 2012  
where do you live??
October 21st, 2012  
Wow, what a shot... fav
October 21st, 2012  
@jsw0109 I'm in Singapore, in Southeast Asia. 8)
October 21st, 2012  
Lovely shot Livia
October 21st, 2012  
Fantastic shot - how great to see them when you were out and about.
October 21st, 2012  
Bob
Nice capture!
October 21st, 2012  
It's a great shot Livia, because it shows such a great moment.
October 21st, 2012  
Great capture Livia! What a nice surprise! You did well with the processing!
October 21st, 2012  
Looks perfect to me... how annoying when you have to take photos in a hurry and the settings are for a totally different lighting from when you last used the camera (happens to me a lot!)
October 21st, 2012  
@myautofocuslife here in the states we have to go to the zoo or Congress to see monkeys ;) Whatever you did to salvage the shot really worked, because the lighting and everything look perfect. I have to fav this so I can view it again and again
October 21st, 2012  
What an amazing catch!!!!! Looks good.
October 21st, 2012  
This looks great to me! Love the epxression of the females face, she seems to be enjoying their family time!
October 21st, 2012  
Whatever you did to salvage your picture, really worked. It looks great to me! Talk about multitasking! This family has it all together!
October 21st, 2012  
Great catch!
October 21st, 2012  
Fantastic nature shot Livia...Fav
October 21st, 2012  
Doesn't look a mess at all Livia, it's great! I wonder if the male is looking for jumping spiders!
October 21st, 2012  
A great shot of a magical moment!
October 21st, 2012  
Amazing capture Livia, can't thing of too many places in the world where that shot is possible. To have the whole family in the frame is awesome. Fav
October 21st, 2012  
Cool
October 21st, 2012  
Excellent! The expressions are amazing.
October 21st, 2012  
How thoughtful of him! :))
October 21st, 2012  
What ever Livia, it's a beautiful shot. all the detail captured.
October 21st, 2012  
What a fantastic experience! I think you did quite well in bringing this picture back into balance. It's not like you could say "Hold that pose while I put another lens on"!
October 21st, 2012  
I am actually lost for words, Livia. It is soooo beautiful Thank you for sharing it with us. A fav.
October 21st, 2012  
Great. If only humans were so cooperative!
October 21st, 2012  
Amazing find and so beautifully photographed. Love the natural candid look. Excellent and fav.
October 21st, 2012  
Wow, amazing to just see them like this. Looks like a happy family.
October 21st, 2012  
You`ve done a great job. And what a lovely shot. so sweet.
October 21st, 2012  
Wow, just... wow! Everything about this photo is so beautiful -- the light, the detail, their expressions, the emotion of the sweet moment. Truly beautiful and amazing capture Livia! Fav! :)
October 21st, 2012  
Agree with @pyrrhula.
October 21st, 2012  
That is amazing and I am so jealous. Here I might stumble across sea lions or Elk or raccoons. I always wanted a pet monkey when i was a child so my best friend was a toy chimpanzee
October 21st, 2012  
He's taking off little itchy nits, I suppose!
October 21st, 2012  
It looks great to me! What a super shot. Fav.
October 21st, 2012  
Wow nothing else to say really.Fav
October 21st, 2012  
What an amazing capture!! Best I can hope for is a cat or a dog!!
October 21st, 2012  
Wow... that would be a surprise. Great capture!
October 21st, 2012  
Simply amazing. Favd
October 21st, 2012  
Rob
Awesome Capture Livia! Fav!
October 21st, 2012  
Not sure I'd be too excited about seeing wild monkeys here. In some countries they carry disease. How safe are they there? Still, you've captured a lovely moment.
October 21st, 2012  
Wonderful shot Family
October 21st, 2012  
EXCELLENT Capture!
October 21st, 2012  
LOL! Great timing!
October 21st, 2012  
Wow, that is amazing. What a great family shot. Love the look on the female monkey--such a sweet capture, Livia. A fav for sure.
October 21st, 2012  
I think this is an excellent shot and I can't see anything wrong with the exposure. I can't imagine seeing wild monkeys. I see them doing this at zoos. One looks like he checking the other for fleas. Cool capture.
October 21st, 2012  
Fantastic!!!
October 21st, 2012  
not a mess at all! daddy looks totally focused haha!
October 21st, 2012  
What a cute moment to capture! I would love to be walking along and come across this.
October 22nd, 2012  
Great capture - unbelievable that this has been 'salvaged'!
October 22nd, 2012  
OMG. You are right there is the baby. Amazing catch.
October 22nd, 2012  
Amazing catch! A wonderful family portrait.
October 22nd, 2012  
This is fantastic Livia,what a great sight to come upon.
October 22nd, 2012  
wow... what ever you did is fantastic ... a fav for sure... awesome capture....
October 22nd, 2012  
So cute! I love this!
October 22nd, 2012  
A fantastic shot and congratulations on making the top 20 too!
October 22nd, 2012  
FAV! love this...not a mess at all!!
October 22nd, 2012  
FAV! Look at the expression on the female's face!!! Priceless!!!
October 22nd, 2012  
Imagine my surprise... really? You're out taking a walk and happen upon two wild monkeys? SERIOUSLY? WOW! What a fantastic shot!!!
October 22nd, 2012  
Incredible!!! To find something like this & capture it at right moment, bravo!
October 22nd, 2012  
The focus is perfect and what great timing. Great shot. Fav.
October 22nd, 2012  
Fantastic find! Great focus and timing.
October 22nd, 2012  
The monkeys are so expressive! What an awesome capture!
October 22nd, 2012  
Great capture.
October 22nd, 2012  
Fabulous!!! Fave, this is so special!! They are so unaware of your presence!
October 22nd, 2012  
It's a beautiful shot and well done with the post processing. What a great capture and so wonderful to see like that. Fav. for me, too.
October 22nd, 2012  
This is just so sweet and such a stunning capture too
October 22nd, 2012  
@sheliwithani There are signs around nature reserves to warn people not to get unnecessarily close to or feed the wild monkeys because, once they become accustomed to people, they might also turn aggressive. No idea about disease though. We just let them be when we see them, we don't try to make any contact with them. They are wild animals, after all. Even though these monkeys did not pay me any attention while I was photographing them, I made sure to maintain my distance, so that I wasn't within arm's reach of any of them. The mother actually moved later on, to a spot on the boardwalk that was a little closer to me, and I nearly panicked. I got up slowly and walked away. 8)

October 22nd, 2012  
These are fabulous, what an amazing find!
October 22nd, 2012  
awesome shot Livia, they're so funny!
October 22nd, 2012  
Oh this is priceless Livia!! i am so excited for you to have found them!! i love the expression on the one being picked on's face! FAV!
October 22nd, 2012  
I think it looks perfect :) Amazing capture of a wonderful moment :)
October 22nd, 2012  
This is not what I expected to see when I searched for you! that shot can't have been that bad coz this is stunning! The female's expression is so soft and feeling! fav, well done you!
October 22nd, 2012  
Wow how lucky for you. The one monkey looks like he is in heaven being preened! Lovely shot
October 22nd, 2012  
Classic!
October 22nd, 2012  
The monkey on the right looks so relaxed! Fantastic capture!
October 22nd, 2012  
That is AWESOME!
October 22nd, 2012  
Mel
amazing! what a fabulous experience
October 22nd, 2012  
Wow, Livia. You sure get amazing shots!!!!
October 22nd, 2012  
How lovely, i didn't even spot the baby at first! =) i love the closed eye look on the mothers face, she looks perfectly contented - lovely!
October 22nd, 2012  
Awww......Fabulous preening shot Livia!.....Love this! : )
October 22nd, 2012  
Gorgeous capture! I think it looks perfect. Really love it.
October 22nd, 2012  
FAV, an amazing encounter you had and a fantastic capture.
October 22nd, 2012  
Pam
Wow!! Incredible to see wild monkeys like this! The exposure looks good to me. Excellent post processing. I love the expression on the one monkeys face. Amazing capture!!
October 22nd, 2012  
Photography doesn't get any better than this. Fav
October 22nd, 2012  
wow, that's not something you see everyday!! You have done a fantastic job processing as it looks perfect to me! I will add to your huge pile of faves:)
October 22nd, 2012  
Cute scene and nice capture! Looks good on my computer:-)
October 22nd, 2012  
Excellent capture.
October 22nd, 2012  
ahahahhaa oh my gosh! this is fantastic!
October 22nd, 2012  
Wonderful capture of them doing their thing.
October 22nd, 2012  
Well captured. It's a lovely shot, the light on them is great it gives lots of detail of them.
October 22nd, 2012  
They are so lovely! Amazing shot!
October 22nd, 2012  
What an absolutely amazing find. I can't imagine running into monkeys in the wild. Super cool shot, too. A fav!
October 22nd, 2012  
The expression on the mother monkey is wonderful! What a fantastic shot :)
October 22nd, 2012  
Loooove it! fav
October 22nd, 2012  
Sweet shot
October 22nd, 2012  
This is fantastic, are they safe companions?
October 22nd, 2012  
Amazing! Fav! xx
October 22nd, 2012  
This is just amazing -- what a fortuitous capture! Fav!
October 23rd, 2012  
Sometimes those can turn out pretty cool :) As this one did!
October 23rd, 2012  
Adorable family moment
October 23rd, 2012  
Oh, that is an amazing capture. Its so good that you don't even notice the imperfections that you speak of. I love how the mother's eyes are closed.
October 23rd, 2012  
Definitely not a mess! What an amazing scene and capture! Love the tones and processing too! Fav!
October 23rd, 2012  
Marvelous timing and capture! So beautiful!
October 23rd, 2012  
Congrats on making the popular page with this shot. I knew it would.
October 23rd, 2012  
FAV! I can't imagine stumbling onto this in the wild...certainly doesn't happen where I live! How lucky you must have felt to be able to photograph such an intimate moment in their family life. It's amazing!!
October 23rd, 2012  
A great, big, wild and surprising "THANK YOU!" to everyone for stopping by! I was really surprised by these monkeys. They hardly paid any attention to me at all. It was amazing to be able to get so close to them. Thank you so much for your comments and time. I am grateful for your support and encouragement!
October 23rd, 2012  
Lin
Oh, that look of utter bliss on the mother's face... just wonderful!
October 23rd, 2012  
Well what can I say... But.... FAV
October 23rd, 2012  
Wow you were so close very cool shot!!!!
October 23rd, 2012  
What a great pic!!!! Love it!!
October 23rd, 2012  
this is stunning. the clarity and lighting is GORGEOUS and it is an instant fav!! how lucky are you to come across this!!! LUVIT!!!
October 23rd, 2012  
How did I miss this one. Love it! FAV.
October 23rd, 2012  
AWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! That is precious!!!!! Great shot!!!! Definite fav!!
October 23rd, 2012  
FAV - what a an intimate family moment
October 23rd, 2012  
Instant fav. This is incredible. Their expressions, detail, lighting...all perfect. Amazing moment to capture.
October 24th, 2012  
Cool shot.
October 25th, 2012  
Aww! The one looks very appreciative of the other for checking for bugs! :)
October 26th, 2012  
congrats on top 20!
October 26th, 2012  
Congrats for the no 2 spot !!! Well done you!
October 26th, 2012  
Congrats on the top 20! Fav!
October 26th, 2012  
Congratulations on this incredible capture making the Top 20!!!!
October 27th, 2012  
Wow what a fantastic shot, love the expression on their faces. Perfectly captured!
Congrats on the top 20 =)
October 27th, 2012  
No.2 for the week. Thoroughly deserved!!
October 27th, 2012  
Well done on the top 10 Livia!!!!!
October 27th, 2012  
Congratulations Livia on T20. This has to be one of the best shots I have seen. So beautifully captured. Well done and well deserved. Mega FAV!
October 27th, 2012  
This is a beautiful capture - congratulations on top 20 ...well deserved!!
October 27th, 2012  
Fabulous shot. Sooooooooooooooo very very cute.
October 28th, 2012  
XD and 8D indeed! Perfect!
October 28th, 2012  
Many congrats on having the number 2 image of the week - well done, Livia!
October 28th, 2012  
Ira
Congrats on the top 20!!! :D Well deserved!
October 29th, 2012  
This is beautiful
November 2nd, 2012  
Wonderful capture!
November 2nd, 2012  
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