Zebra, mane

[peter delaney]

Nikon D3 200-400MM ISO 640 1/2000 F8,

[Douglas Bolt]

Cool!

[Rachel Hollander]

Sorry Peter, while I'm usually a fan, this one doesn't work for me. I think it's the lack of detail and the loss of shape due to the white on white, particularly the right ear. Will be interested to see what others think.

TFS,
Rachel

[Diane Miller]

Interesting idea. I'd clone out the right ear and crop some on that side, and bring out a little more of the other ear. Cool you got an eye in there but it needs to be more the center of attention.

[Don Railton]

Hello Peter.

Sorry, but not really working for me either... I find these images harsh to look at and in this instance the floating black ear tip on the right a distraction. Having said that I bet you sell 100's of them....:e3 I agree with Diane, remove said ear and crop from the right would improve the image for me..

DON

[Marina Scarr]

I absolutely love what you were going for here and you are really onto something special. I am with Diane on taking some off of the right. I would have liked to see the mane maybe coming out of the right hand lower corner on more of a diagonal and more of a vertical crop.

[Gabriela Plesea]

I am with Marina here:w3 I love arty images and I think this one leaves a bit to the imagination, which works for me. At times I am taken with detail, and other times with the lack of it- and especially when it comes to black and white. This photograph moves me, makes me think, makes me try to complete the image with my mind's eye.

...and I love the eye lashes, by the way:w3

Kind regards,

[Nancy Bell]

Zebras are a natural subject for creating graphic images. This one is a super unique view and really inspires me to think about the presentation. My 2 cents would be to have more length on the face and just enough of an outline to attach the right ear. The drama for me is the mane with the dark brushy tips rising upwards. Very cool thinking!

[Steve Kaluski]

Peter can you give some rational to the thinking and direction of the image please as it would be very helpful to some of our newer members. :S3:

It certainly is a very graphic and stark image where the viewer is left to interrupt the image I feel. The black & pure whites with no tonal range is certainly a departure from what we normally see, plus a POV with the head away from the viewer. Personally I'm not sure, does it need a bit more information, is the crop & angle right?

For me it's an image I need to sit and look at and discuss over a cup of java with you, to have an exchange of thoughts & words. :S3:

TFS
Steve

[peter delaney]

Thanks for putting me on the spot "old friend" ,
I have used the old mantra from Minor White in response before about my images ....

''One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are''

The following point I am going to make is about my work and in no ways meant to judge or find fault with other photographers....

Photography for me is an expression of my creativity. In order for me to evolve as a photographer and be the best that I can be, I must challenge myself in to thinking out of the box by experimenting in the field and in the digital darkroom.

I do not wish to document Nature and to produce an exact copy of what I saw.... I find little pleasure or challenge in just reproducing/documenting/xerox copying a subject. I want to try and push myself and my work in order to engage the viewer in my image.

For me the medium of B&W allows me to do this .... The image above is an example of me experimenting in the field and the Digital Darkroom. The fact that it has engaged so many of you is a good thing , as I get to receive opinions from my peers, and hopefully you will try and experiment with B&W and maybe take on board the quotation from Minor White..

'One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are''

The starkness of the image as Steve refers , from 0 black to 255 white.. Why ? It is purely from an esthetics point of view ,it is meant to capture the viewers attention / my work is produced to be printed and viewed as a framed Print . The lack of detail in the RHS ear is to cause tension within the image. I have not decided if it works yet... And I may change my mind and introduce more detail later or change the crop as some of you suggested .

[Steve Kaluski]

Sorry 'old bean' didn't mean to put you on the spot. :bg3:


''One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are''

Indeed Peter, but remember the audience here and this is why I feel it's important that not only do you post your images, but also a brief note of why you have chosen to go a particular route, as people here can follow, learn and understand, hopefully building on the platform and so in the future, be able to expand on their own thinking and techniques. In addition, not just thinking how to shoot in a particular way, but also to think how they may wish to process the image later. Being exposed to a different ways of thinking is for me what the Forum try's to achieve, with exchanges of thoughts, directions, POV, 'enhancements in PP' etc, etc.

Because your work, not style is more 'diverse' than the majority I do think it illustrates how creative we can be. Not all images may lend themselves to 'key' treatments, styles, techniques, but occasionally as you say, we should explore and 'challenge' how we portray our images, but whatever route we choose, for me, it must take the image that one step further, otherwise it's a pointless choice and would be better to show it 'as shot'.


The lack of detail in the RHS ear is to cause tension within the image. I have not decided if it works yet...

Peter, sometimes it's that lack, hint or suggestion that makes more of a statement than the whole part in glorious detail, as it allows us to interrupt things in our own way and provides a unique, yet personal POV that no two people may see.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I like your out-of-the-box thinking here, Peter...and the texture of the mane is great.
I would have liked to see just a hint of the outline of the ear on our RHS...perhaps it's visible on the printed version?
Overall I think this stark series is best viewed in print...:w3