Hartebeest

[Rachel Hollander]

I thought I'd post an animal we don't often see images of on here, a hartebeest. Taken in Etosha in the late morning so the sun was a bit harsh.

Canon 7D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/800
f9
ISO 400
HH from a safari vehicle, cropped for comp, luminosity mask, levels, curves, selective dodging, NR on bg, sharpened in CS6.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Russell Johnson]

Rachel,

I think the elements are working against you a bit here, with the harsh light, though you have handled it well.

Like the comp, thoughnot too keen on the mushy look in the background, and I feel the color is a little off.

Quick RP with the following adjustments in the direction I was thinking:

1) Black point color curves adjustment
2) On a lights mask - increases the blues and dropped the reds on a curves color adjusment.
3) Added a hasty gaussian blur to the background
4) Slight levels adjsutment

WDYT?

128525

[dankearl]

I like the OP way better than the repost.
Beautiful Rachel, the BG looks like an Oil painting.
I might tone down just the FG at the bottom just a tad.

[Brendon Cremer]

Great image Rachel, as mentioned you handled the light well here. I would agree on the BG being less than attractive but the blur added in Russells RP improves it greatly. Colour wise i find Russells a little too cool for my likeing, yours may be just a tad too warm but is more appealing to me, perhaps something in between.

[Nancy Bell]

This is what I find so challenging about photographing wildlife. You see a fabulous animal and the eye is happy to filter out all the distracting details, but not the camera! Now with post-processing we try to repeat what the eye/brain does so automatically. To find that pleasing result is a balance of bkgd blur, color, etc. vs. the main animal. Here I prefer the OP but think the tree on the left is too visually prominent. My eye shifts to the many dark trunks. Maybe that can be more blended into the bkgd.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel,

for knowing the place you handled it very well with the harsh light. Colors look absolutely fine to me. The RP from Russell is for my taste a bit to "cool", that can be adjusted.
I would have a look at the right ear, the white hair I would burn down a bit like the left ear. Details are great and the color of this animal as well.
The rocks are handled as well very good. Usually they "shine" at you in images like spot lights at mid day time :S3:

Enjoy your weekend

Ciao


Anette

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. Russell - thanks for the rp. I think my op is just a tad too warm for time of day but is more due to me not reducing the reds and yellows as I typically do. Here's a rp with them reduced, a very slight gaussian blur on the bg and a little more selective burning where suggested. WDYT?


Thanks again,
Rachel

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel,

I like your RP much better, also color wise. The ear looks great :bg3:


Enjoy holy Sunday

Ciao
Anette

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, I think the OP was just too warm overall and I also free that Russell's is a little too cold, blue, but if you look at all three each one has certain merits and so perhaps a balance of all three? I do like the almost bleached out FG juxtapose to the rich warm BKG & subject. Opening up the detain in the face helps, likewise a hint of NR for what I assume is heat haze does help. Being off set to one side gives interest, wonder if a sliver more at the foot would help? Would have been interesting to have seen the same image with the 5D for comparison, perhaps the image overall may have been better, but guess you were going for reach with the set up?

Nice to see a different subject.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Anette and Steve. Yes, Steve, I wanted the reach of the 100-400 and 7D. At the time, this hartebeest and another kept getting their horns entangled with each other and I wanted a bit more reach. Also, at Etosha waterholes the road deadends in a widened area where you can observe the wildlife from. As so often is the case, the hartebeest stayed a distance away from this area.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Loi Nguyen]

Rachael, I think you handled the light very well here. The image is tack sharp and the hartebeest pops out in both the RPs. Your last RP is the version I like best. I also enjoyed reading the comments here and see how the image changes with each RP. tFS.

[Steve Canuel]

Such cool looking antelope, I like the habitat you've included. OP looked alright to me, your repost may be just a touch better.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Loi and Steve, much appreciate the comments and suggestions.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel,
very cool antelope from my beloved Etosha .
under tzhe circumstances you did a nice job.

but i feel personally the IQ is not as good as your recent stuff, maybe due to camera and natural heat in that place.
I would prefer your RP.

TFS Andreas