Elk

[Rachel Hollander]

I thought I would continue the string of North American wildlife postings. This is the same bull elk as in my other recent post. Here his morning breath was visible but it was actually difficult to separate it from the morning fog when processing. I wish I had a bit more room below but this is full frame. I also wish he had turned his head slightly toward me but unfortunately not. With the eye still visible and the morning breath I thought this was worth keeping. Hopefully, you agree.

Canon 5D3
100-400 @ 400mm
1/500
f5.6
ISO 1600
EC +1
HH, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, sharpened in CS6.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Don Railton]

Hi Rachel, Yep I agree..! I think its a great image, and the breath makes it for me. The fog adds also to the mood... I wondered how this might look as a b&W? Not in a position to try right now but just a thought from me. Got to get in before Morkel..!!

TFS
DON

[Steve Canuel]

Hi Rachel,
I really like the mood of this one. I also think you did a really nice job on the PP to show the breath and the subdued colors really capture the foggy feel. I also looked at this as a B/W and while not a real fan of that media, I have to say this one looks good on all the B/W presets in PSE10.

[Tom Graham]

"I wish I had a bit more room below but this is full frame"
But you had on a 100-400 and you shot at 400. As I like to nag :S3:, compose the shot then pull back 10% for later frame optimizing. We are not shooting 35mm chrome (thanks goodness).
Tom
ps - Good thing his ear did not cover that eye, else it should have been deleted in camera.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, tough conditions and you got the shot.

For me this is very much a 'work in progress' image where you now have a better understanding of what & how to achieve the next image and this is also echoed by your own self assessment. You nailed the techs & processing so now it all about the easy part, the comp. :S3: Like the look & feel overall and retaining the breathe is never easy as quite often a fine balance or trade off with other areas.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks guys, interesting thought on the b&w. I'll take a look.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Tom, be nice if you would care to share some of your images as well as your thoughts, I know you said you had some you were preparing to share soon, how are they coming along?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Don and Steve for the suggestion of trying this one in b&w. Here's a quick conversion done in CS6 with an additional curves adjustment.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Andrew Merwin]

Hi Rachel, I prefer the color image because of the subtle color in the BG grasses. I like the visible breath. TFS.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I think you have done a good job Rachel, regarding the bas - easily fixed add a little canvas or recrop larger then fill in the empty space with content aware, i don't think you will need to add much so there will not be any noticeable distortion in the grasses.

[John Ippolito]

Hi Rachel, I think this is quite an excellent image. The overall mood is conveyed with regard to the rut, morning conditions, and the breath vapor is handled very nicely (not an easy balance to pull off).

I am quite OK with the head angle in this particular image - artists do it all the time - it makes you look deeper into the elk's world, and the image as a whole as he likely responds to another contender. I rather like the B&W as well. A bit more tweaking, and a Lum Mask or two will make the conversion POP. Well done.

[Steve Kaluski]

Interesting Rachel, I quite like the B/W it gives the image another direction. I also agree with Jonathan, that a simple extension of the base would resolve your own wishes and not that hard to do. Looking at the Elk, albeit on the laptop I do feel that you could bump up the mid and 3/4 tones to bring back a bit more depth & contrast, don't use Contrast though! It also helps to give a bit more form to the rump too.


I am quite OK with the head angle in this particular image - artists do it all the time - it makes you look deeper into the elk's world, and the image as a whole

Very true John, nice reminder, thank you. :cheers:

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks very much gents for the kind comments and suggestions. They are very much appreciated.

Rachel

[Don Railton]

Hello again Rachel...

Thanks for the B&W repost, it resonates with what I had in mind which is satisfying for me as I don't think B&W very often. I also think the B&W image is equally as good as the colour version as I feel it add emphasis to the animal and the breath over the BG without destroying the mood...

TFS

DON

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel,

very nice elk you got here. I like it all, color & B&W. Most suggestions have been done, so I just jump in with the B&W.
I might would turn down slightly the far bright BG/ground/grass a bit under the elk's head. Having a look if it works or not :bg3:
The white breath looks to me a bit "small", not wide enough loosing to the outer skirts ( sorry for my wonder English here ) of the 'breath'.
If I haven't seen this morning the breath of our "Noah's Ark" on a walk than I probably would not say this. It goes wider and why not try selective to brighten it a bit wider!
Just a thought, but worth a try. The delete button is easy pushed for a layer :bg3:


Have a great day

Ciao
Anette

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice mood here, Rachel, and good job in making the morning breath discernable amidst the fog, not easy to do without making it look weird.
I'm not too bothered by the room at the bottom here.
And...I like the B&W! :5

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Don, Anette and Morkel. Anette - I had played with both luminosity masks and selective burning of the area but wasn't happy with the result of either. Decided to leave it as is.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Rachel, this is a gorgeous image and I love the feel of it. The hazy bg and breath and great light came together so well. I like the b&W but much prefer the OP as the tones are so soft and pleasing.

[Brendon Cremer]

Stunning image here Rachel, not much left to say, i really like the both of them the colour and the B&W but probably leaning more towards the B & W. Overall a stunning image so very well captured and processed.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Cheryl and Brendon :wave: