Frolicking in Wildflowers

[Marina Scarr]

These Mountain Goat kids are so playful when they are young. What a delight it was to witness and photograph them frolicking on a mountainside full of rocks and wildflowers on Mt Evans. Photographing these goats is no easy task in this terrain and at this altitude. There is a lot of climbing and the height makes it an arduous albeit joyful adventure. There were times I had to sit down to catch my breath and could barely hold up my gear.

Canon 1D3, Canon 100-400L
F11, 1/1600sec, ISO 640, manual exposure
Handheld

C & C always welcomed and much appreciated.

Marina Scarr
www.marinascarrphotography.com (http://www.marinascarrphotography.com)

[Arthur Morris]

Love the jump and the flowers and the sharpness. But not the rock :). Was this in Florida???

[Marina Scarr]

Love the jump and the flowers and the sharpness. But not the rock :). Was this in Florida???

Thanks for the comments, Artie. This was on Mt Evans as noted above which is in Colorado. Mt Evans is 14,000' high and is known for its Mountain Goats which can be photographed near and around the summit during the warmer months. Frankly, it's tough to find a goat without rocks in the frame. For me the rock is representative of their environment. They are extremely agile on the rocks from a very young age and can often be seen jumping from rock to rock.

[Arthur Morris]

All good. I was joking about Florida. It is the position of the rock more than the rock itself that is problematic for me as it merges with the rear footsies.

[Marina Scarr]

I was joking about Florida.

I did think that was an odd question but it's not always easy to detect humor on a forum, so I didn't wish to ASSume.

[Rachel Hollander]

Marina - great action, well captured. It feels like he's jumping out of the frame at us. Only nit is I wonder if you can extract a bit more details in the whites on the face/head.

TFS,
Rachel

[Ken Watkins]

Marina,

This is probably a silly question, but do you have the next frame in which the hooves might be clear from the rocks?
I agree with Rachel in the slight lack of detail in the face, which gives me the impression of being not quite sharp enough.
Other than that a great capture of perfect joy.

[Steve Canuel]

Nice leap and summer, alpine habitat Marina. With the bright, unfiltered light of high altitude and the tight, compact, short hair of the face, especially the bridge of the nose, I also find it difficult to retain the fine detail of that part of their faces. Probably visible in the original size, hard to show in web postings in my experience.

[Arthur Morris]

Marina - great action, well captured. It feels like he's jumping out of the frame at us. Only nit is I wonder if you can extract a bit more details in the whites on the face/head. TFS, Rachel

Hi Rachel,

You are too new here (relatively) to have been around when I campaigned vigorously against the use of any form of the phrase nit-picking. Here is one definition: Looking for unimportant errors or faults, esp. in order to criticize unnecessarily. The negative implications of using the word nit or the phrase nit-picking are directed at the person who commented not the person who posted..... From the definition: "..to criticize unnecessarily."
Please refrain at from using the word nit or the phrase nit-picking :)

Your question here was a good one, thus you were not nitpicking.

[Arthur Morris]

Nice leap and summer, alpine habitat Marina. With the bright, unfiltered light of high altitude and the tight, compact, short hair of the face, especially the bridge of the nose, I also find it difficult to retain the fine detail of that part of their faces. Probably visible in the original size, hard to show in web postings in my experience.

Detail Extractor in a NIK Color Efex Pro can do wonders with the WHITEs in situations like this.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Artie - but "nit" also has a definition of "a minor shortcoming." It was of course in that context that I was using it.

Rachel

[Arthur Morris]

YAW Rachel. That said, I will continue my campaign against its use here :).

[Ken Watkins]

Art,

Can I ask what would be a suitable substitute for "nit" or "nitpicking", as as far as I can remember the words "minor nit" or "nit" has been extensively used by both myself and others in the past, without in my knowledge causing offense.

I for one would not wish to offend anyone.

Cheers

Ken

[Marina Scarr]

While I don't take the use of these words personally, I cringe every time I see the words "nit" or "nit-pick." It could be bc I was around at BPN's inception and remember Artie's campaign against their use.

[Arthur Morris]

Art, Can I ask what would be a suitable substitute for "nit" or "nitpicking", as as far as I can remember the words "minor nit" or "nit" has been extensively used by both myself and others in the past, without in my knowledge causing offense. I for one would not wish to offend anyone. Cheers Ken

It is actually quite simple. Just state your concern with the image without the nit-picking/nit qualifier. Or you could say, "Of minor concern is...." or, as I do, "Here is a fine point for you to consider."

[Ken Watkins]

Art,

Thanks for that, I think "of minor concern" would be most suitable for me.

[Arthur Morris]

You are most welcome.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Marina, love the 'gamboling' look and feel to this, but agree with Artie about the boulder. Certainly fixing the whites would help, plus having tried it, selecting the grass and upping the green gives a bit more vibrance to the setting. Also adjusting the RH slider in Levels to say 240 just lifts it I feel, but % figures are all subjective. Personally, I might have shot a little wider to get more SS to freeze the action.

Would love to see some shots of these guys where you were lying flat out on the grass looking up to them, even with some OOF grass in the FG, perhaps next time? :S3:

TFS
Steve

[Steve Canuel]

Steve,
The grass is actually high alpine plants that the rangers ask people not to tread upon as they are very slow growing and susceptible to damage. There are trails up and down the peak and there are no concerns with people "rock-hopping" and stepping in bare areas while walking across these open areas but I often see the rangers ask people to refrain from trampling the tundra. They've even put up fences in the past year around the main parking area and lake to restrict visitor access to designated areas only. I'm certainly not suggesting Marina did this as her posts often reflect concern for her subjects and if your timing and luck are good, there are many easily accessible areas to catch these animals in the picturesque habitat in which they live.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate the additional info to the location.

[Stan Cunningham]

Surprised no one mentioned how wonderful the eye looks, great clarity and catchlight. I 100% concur with Art on the Nik detail extractor if you have it. Just put a control point on his nose and adjust the opacity and you will see more detail. Nice shot in my book.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Marina, love the running jump pose. Great action shot and expression on the face. The flowers add nice splashes of color throughout. A little more space between the foot and the rock would have been nice.

[Marina Scarr]

Hi Marina, love the 'gamboling' look and feel to this, but agree with Artie about the boulder. Certainly fixing the whites would help, plus having tried it, selecting the grass and upping the green gives a bit more vibrance to the setting. Also adjusting the RH slider in Levels to say 240 just lifts it I feel, but % figures are all subjective. Personally, I might have shot a little wider to get more SS to freeze the action.

Would love to see some shots of these guys where you were lying flat out on the grass looking up to them, even with some OOF grass in the FG, perhaps next time? :S3:

TFS
Steve

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and insightful critiques.

To first address the rock(s), I too would have preferred the rock in a different location, but I still feel as though the photo is a worthy one, especially since you can tell the kid is pushing off of the rock.

Thank you for your PS ideas, Steve. I have popped the grass, decreased levels and lowered the brights in Nik ever so slightly (otherwise the whites looked grey) and also added some structure to pull out a few more details. The difference is difficult to detect but present nonetheless.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Late to this one, Marina...love the moment and the feel here.
Your repost has some added "oomph" which I like.
I see Artie's point about the placement of the rock...doesn't lessen my enjoyment of the image per se though...
:bg3: