Fallow bucks resting

[Gerald Kelberg]

The rut for these Fallow Deer (Dama dama) is long finished so they are back to hanging out together again like regular guys, chilling out in the shade of some trees. These were on a small island in a large freshwater lake in the southern part of the Netherlands.

Trickiest thing was getting a good exposure shooting into the shade. A small amount of patch work done removing leaves behind the antlers. Maybe the brightness of the foreground grass needs more attention?

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM at 400mm, hand held
1/320, f/6.3 ISO 400
DPP, PS5, Neat Image and Smart sharpen


Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Gerald

[Hilary Hann]

I think it will be hard to reduce the bright foreground grasses without making it look unnatural, even if you could I rather think that in this circumstance I quite like the light to dark feel it gives. As an observer, it accentuates the feel of looking into the shadowy glade and I like that.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gerald,
like the relaxed pose of the antlers, but think the one behind the main subject kind of disturbing , nothing you can do about , unless you do a lot of clone work.
Like the colors and contrast with good detail,i think i would reduce the overall blue /cyan a tad to give the image a bit more warmth.
The whites look a bit greyed, think you push them a tad further without blowing them,and maybe lighten the right eye and bring more life into it.
I would tone down the foreground a fraction.

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Gerald - nice pose and look toward you. Good suggestions for improvement above. I might also apply a round of NR to the bg.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gerald, I think these are the most beautiful out of the 'Deer' family for me, I love the spots and the big shovel antlers. BTW is it the angle or does the male have two 'different' antlers?

Certainly each time you post the images certainly are getting better in terms of processing and Hilary, Andreas & Rachel have made very good observations/suggestions on improving the image overall. If you have it, I personally might be tempted to move the whole crop down by about half the space you have at present, between trim & antler. Easy with hindsight, but I might also have moved more to the left, partly to avoid the grass over the eye/face of the male in the BKG and if possible to avoid the male to the right, in the BKG. Although you may have got some more foliage making contact with the antlers which would not have been good.

TFS
Steve

[Gerald Kelberg]

Thanks to all for your interest, suggestions and encouragement - much appreciated. Here is the repost incorporating your suggestions.

I have added a little warmth in the saturation - plus red and yellow, minus blue and cyan. I have adjusted the whites a little also, but not greatly as they are about where I want them given the shady area, and I have brightened the eye a little - which shows better on the full sized image.

I didn't want to take out the antlers behind the main subject because the idea of the group of bucks is part of the story - however I did a little burning and darkening to reduce their impact. And I have reduced the brightness on the foreground slightly more but the difference is almost imperceptible. I have also tightened the crop a little, most taken from the top.

Steve, I think you are right - these bucks are really beautiful and now I have found this location, I hope to see more of them. :bg3: Both the antlers are palmated, it is just the angle that makes them appear different. I tried a few different angles, mainly concerned with getting the head clear of the front buck and having the antlers clear. I had varying degrees of success, but this image had by far the best head angle so I went for it.

Thanks very much!

Gerald

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gerald, thanks for the feed back and addition info. I think the adjustments have all worked nicely, although I personally feel loosing some off the bottom rather than the top means the images is a little off balance, but all personal taste. Good luck with your future images with regard to this subject, mine are very skittish at present, but might get a chance next week and away from these screens.

Cheers
Steve