Running with the Dogs

[Morkel Erasmus]

You know the location by now...
Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe...
Lying on my stomach in a sandy riverbed... :c3:
Tried some slow shutter speed panning here...:Whoa!:


I kept the incline here as it really was an incline (notice the riverbed edge in the background), and I believe diagonals add some dynamic to images if used properly.


Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II + 1.4xTC @ 700mm
f8.0 @ 1/60 SS @ ISO-1400
Low light at sunset
80% of full frame

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - I'm not a huge fan of blurs but this works with the majority of the body in focus and the legs blurred. The low pov and kicked up dirt add to the image. Incline doesn't bother me but I might be tempted to burn the fg a bit.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marina Scarr]

Really liking the feel of this one, Morkel. The face being sharp makes the blur work. Loving the positing of the legs, the kicked up sand and the BG is quite nice. Incline and FG work for me but you might try Rachel's suggestion of burning the dirt a tad.

[Andrew Merwin]

Neat image Morkel. I am impressed that you were able to pan & keep the face sharp. I like the blurred legs, the 2 raised paws & the kicked up sand. TFS.

[dankearl]

I think this is outstanding, not even a blur to me, just the right sense of motion.
Very well done.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, I like the contrast of the BKG/FG, however I agree that a tad more tone in the FG would help the balance. I like the motion in the legs and it balances well against the sharpness of the head, but not sure if the NR amount is just a little too much on the BKG, but personal choice. Going against the grain, I quite like to see the WD on a level.

TFS
Steve

[Gen Benjamin]

I too am not a big fan of blurs especially with wildlife but this is an exception for me, really enjoy the low shooting position and the kicked up dirt. Agree that the bright forground pulls your attention away a bit.
Gen

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel,
sorry for being late on this one.

Like the blurred running effect, just blurred so much to get the feeling and keeping important parts sharp, but think you could push it a tad more.
Like the overall color and contrast , but would also tone down the FG a bit more.And if you have used NR i would go with Steve and reduce that , Bg looks a bit too heavy smooth.
I do not mind, so i really like the uphill running composition.

Nicely done , Morkel.:cheers:

TFS Andreas

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thank you all for your comments.
I will re-process at a later stage and incorporate the feedback on the brightness of the sand and the NR on the BG :S3: