Golden Zebra

[Morkel Erasmus]

I'm in a sharing mood :Whoa!:.
In keeping with images I'm 50/50 on, I thought I'd submit another one to your scrutiny and valued opinions...:t3

Love the light. Unsure about framing. Perhaps a square crop by taking some off the RHS? Full frame top to bottom though (those darn fixed lenses!) - should have made a pano a-la-Robert...:eek3:

Cape Mountain Zebra at sunset in the Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 300mm f2.8 L IS USM + 1.4xTC @ 420mm
f5.6 @ 1/800 SS @ ISO-1600
EV -0.3

[Tom Graham]

Love the light - I'm a sucker for that golden half-hour, or backlit. Very nice pose, head, ears, body.
Agree, does need cropping some but not sure where/how.
Tom

[dankearl]

Nice backlit, I would probably crop as a vertical although I like this one.

[Steve Canuel]

Nice lighting and colors, just a little tight up top for me. Seems a vertical comp would've been the choice here, reason you chose not to? Your suggested crop would seem to work although as posted is okay too.

[Jamie Douglas]

Sweet light Morkel and it could do with a touch more room up top IMO and looks like the IQ has fallen off a wee bit on the right eye. Crop wise this works as presented... with a tad more room up top.

Jamie

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for the honest crits guys.

I can't think why I didn't shoot vertically. I think I wanted to, but if I recall correctly this guy turned away from me after this shot. I initially framed horizontally as I wanted that sweet light hitting the grass and surround him with the grass in the frame...just too much lens for that.

I will check out a square crop and if I perhaps nailed a vertical shot.
:e3

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, perhaps not having the 1.4x on might have given you better flexibility, however I agree with Jamie on the IQ, so any substantial cropping may have not been an option? Certainly turning to portrait format would have been the best all round, but easy to say with hindsight. :S3: Whichever way run run with this, some extended BKG at the top would be good.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - beautiful light and I agree with the others either vertical or more room on top would have been better. ISO 1600 with the 7D is tough on IQ.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks.

Rachel, I don't think the IQ came out too bad here, despite the 7D @ ISO-1600. I'm not really seeing the loss of IQ on the eye as Jamie pointed out - Jamie, did you mean the animal's right eye or the right eye as viewed (its left eye). The one is lit by the sidelight and looks fine. The other is in the shade in a shot that's underexposed, so I wouldn't expect it to stand out or look great?

I checked the library and I shot about 4 frames like this. Why I didn't turn it vertical I'll never know...one of those lost moments it would seem...:e3