Another Sea Otter On Land

[BillTyler]

This image is one I found going back through files from 2010. The sea otter had come onto the beach, an unusual behavior. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Canon 50D
Canon 500mm f/4 + 1.4x
1/400 f/7.1 ISO 800
Cropped from 4752x3168 down to 3402x2458

Bill

[ramesh anantharaman]

Hello Bill, Love this image a lot. Just the thought of getting such an aquatic animal on land is awesome. I love the compo and the lighting.

I Do suggest a slight tighter crop and some CW rotation. Some beach clean up and some detail boost. Did try some with the image if you dont mind. do let me know what you think.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice find Bill - really shows off their thick shaggy coats.
Your post seemed to lack a bit of sharpness, and Ramesh's post is a little overcooked in that department - somewhere in the middle should work nicely.
Although he may well have been standing on an incline on the beach, I would be tempted to do a slight rotation so the eyes of the otter are on nearly the same plane, he would probably still be standing somewhat diagonally?

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Bill - the IQ on this one is much better. I agree about the rotation and that I would go somewhere in between your op and the rp for sharpening. If it were mine I would drop the magentas. I might also drop the reds but to a much lesser extent (maybe -10 in hue/saturation layer).

Keep them coming and don't forget to jump in and comment on other images. It helps us all learn from each other.

TFS,
Rachel

[Jamie Douglas]

Hi Bill, did you run NR on this? Your post lacks a lot of fur detail which I would expect to see given the kit and DOF? A boost in brightness might help the image.

Sea Otters are such photogenic critters and it is not often we get to see them out of the water and on a beach like this so well done.

[Steve Canuel]

Stout little guy. Nice to get this unusual setting for these photogenic animals. Just a touch more sharpening for me although I might also take a look at some rotation to see how it looks.

[BillTyler]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I've lightened some of the darker areas of the fur slightly, warmed the color balance just a tad, cropped a bit, and sharpened. I've also rotated the image, though the original is closer to the actual angle of beach slope.

Bill

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Bill, as Jamie mentioned, these guys are real characters and prove to be great photogenic subjects, so good to see you persisting.

I'm not sure the 50D is going to give you the best IQ, especially upping the ISO too? If you get a situation like this and without a tripod, use your camera bag as extra support to rest you camera/lens on just to aid/reduce any camera shake. The OP is too soft and the RP a tad too much. Perhaps going a little higher to avoid the head merging with the subject would I feel have been better, although you want to avoid being too high and frightening the otter. I do like the look to camera.

TFS
Steve