More tiger cubs (C)

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

These two cubs at the local zoo (see previous posting for details) were restling and learning to do what tigers do. Hope I learned from my first posting of these cubs. All comments welcome. Shooting data is as follows:
Nikon D4
2012:09:06 11:33:39
420mm
420mm (in 35mm film)
1/160 sec, f/7.1
Mode: Av
Metering: Multi-segment
Exp comp: +1/3
ISO: 800
White balance: Fine weather
Flash: Off
File size: 216MB
Image size: 2975 x 2299
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Color profile: Adobe RGB (1998)

[Jamie Douglas]

Hello Wheeler,

Unfortunately the shutter speed was not fast enough to freeze the action here which is a shame but since they are captive I am sure you will have the opportunity to go back again and have another go.

If this was me I would have maybe set the depth of field to F8 and bumped up that ISO to around 3200 to increase the shutter speed so I could freeze the action. I would be looking for speeds in the range of 1/800 or more to freeze a playful moment like this. The D4 can certainly handle high ISO so don't be afraid to bump it up if you are struggling to freeze action in low light. Plus points are exposure looks good and the cute playful interaction. You want to make sure the image is sharp with good fur detail and the real test is to get the teeth nice and sharp.

As for processing there is a green cast to this image which could easily be removed and improved in PS but with the lack of sharpness maybe go back and try again at the zoo and then we can work on PS.

TFS and good luck. You came to the right place for advice and I am sure some of the others will jump in with suggestions.

Jamie</SPAN>

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Wheeler,
agree with Jamie about the technical issues here.Nothing you can change afterwards, just try to make it different next time.

Nice capture of the two little ones, like the tight framing.The colors are again a bit on the cool side, so i tried to take them to my vision of the scene.Just personal view.
Used selective color, some levels and curves.
WDYT?

Is it taken in RAW or JPEG, wondering about the pixel dimension in the techs.

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Wheeler - Excellent points by Jamie and Andreas above. Sadly the ss is the biggest problem and can't be fixed in pp. I don't know the Nikon WB settings but I'm wondering if an auto setting for WB might help with some of the color issues. Zoos are great places to experiment with your equipment so Jamie's idea of returning and upping the ISO significantly is a good one. Unfortunately, there's not often a lot you can do about sun angle or light at a zoo enclosure. The Bronx Zoo had tiger cubs a couple of years ago and they were great subjects for helping to hone my skills.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Mac, similar points as per the previous image and agree on the comments/observations made in the above replies to this thread. I would experiment about cranking up the ISO, the Nikon can take it and you really need better SS to nail these images. The blue cast I suppose is stemming from the more cooler aspect that Nikon defaults to, Canon can goes warm, in the reds/yellows.

If you nailed the SS this would have been an awesome image, like the crop, content/action, nice behavioural action.

TFS
Steve

[Dumay de Boulle]

Andreas's colors look spot on and taken it up a lot. Only problem for me is that the focus is on the left leg of the right cub and the rest is OOF...And there is no way to fix OOF unfortunately. Great interaction and TFS!

[Morkel Erasmus]

Mac, other critiques have been given so I don't want to repeat them.
Given the gear you were using I am surprised at the lack of "great" IQ at this ISO, on all these tiger images :Whoa!:.
I presume the fact that you were shooting "though the fence/mesh" is a contributing factor...but the detail and sharpness should be more (I take most of my images on the D3s at ISO-800 or higher). SS also plays a role - you were quite "slow" for the focal length used.