White Rhino

[Gabriela Plesea]

Another B/W conversion done some time ago, all I did tonight was increase contrast a bit and got some more detail around the eye and mouth.

Nikon D3S
Nikon 700mm (Nikon 500 F4 and 1.4 converter)
ISO 3200 (image taken late afternoon in poor light, rhino in the shade of a tree)
1/160s
F5.6

Handheld, VR on. Taken from open vehicle during game drive.

Have a great evening,

[Hilary Hann]

Very nice conversion however I think there is the slightest amount of movement in the face. Apart from that issue, I like it very much.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - I really like the tones of the conversion against the dark bg. I agree with Hilary that there seems to be some movement. I think you needed a bit more ss in the field. Sounds like the light was tough though.

TFS,
Rachel

[edwardselfe]

Can only echo what was said above. Like the conversion and the idea, but the image isn't quite sharp enough to pull it off. I like that you managed to select along the top of the rhino's head without leaving much sign that you have.
Ed

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Hilary, Rachel and Edward,
1/160s is hardly enough, but I liked the eye of the rhino being open and quite visible for a change. Will see if I can find better images that are suitable for B/W conversion-I really like doing something different and was inspired by a number of lovely B/W images posted lately.

Kind regards,

[Marina Scarr]

I love the B&W conversion here and think this is a very powerful image! I very much like the comp and the tones. I"ll defer to the others in terms of sharpness. I am not seeing the movement they are referring to.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Gabriela,

have read all comments, agree with the sharpness as well. Looks like now the B&W fever has gotten into all. :bg3:
Personally I am not much a fan of this kind of B&W, that all the BG is bold black, but have seen very nice ones with a BG faded into dark grey and lighter. Means BG not all the same color, just faded like a graduate filter does! :w3

Have a great weekend, we have snow, cold!!!!!!! :2eyes2: The arc is in heaven and I sit beside the fireplace :t3

Ciao
Anette

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Gabriela, love the open eye, which we rarely see in a rhino. The details around the eyes are tack sharp to me, but further away I could see some fuzziness or lack of details, not sure due to movement or high ISO. You obviously didn't have enough light, so even at ISO-3200 and F5.6, your SS is 1/160. I think it was a good choice of techs. As for the BG, I'm with Anette, not too fond of the black BG. Overall, it is a great image though. Loi

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gabriela,
watched the image several times over the last days, like the idea behind it , but then stumbled above a German photographer who is doing some nice stuff with zoo animals, so i think you should checkout his stuff, not that i want to say it is not that good but there are some issues for me .

Think the original is not sharp, no wonder by the techs given to look at.You tried to compensate but i think it is not working.The overall tonality is a bit light for my taste , with more D&B you can manage this better.I like the flatness in tones on the sides but not in the key areas .

But i would go on with experimenting, love it .

Waithing for your next attempt.

Sooner or later we need a new B/W forum, hey you BPN MODS , think about it.

Cheers Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Anette, Marina, Loi and Andreas,

Anette and Loi, the black BG started as a vignette which got darker and darker and bigger, to cover the busy BG:bg3:

Andreas, please send me a link to the German photographer's website, I am very kin to look and learn something from him! My email is g8@telkomsa.net. Yep the original is a bit soft, had a look at it just now. Hope I have a better one to try again, if not I will find some other "victim" to turn into B/W! Yep, B/W fever is upon us, would not mind a special forum for those conversions, good idea:5

Hope every one is having a pleasant Sunday, enjoy the day!