(C) Iguana

[Gabriela Plesea]

Image taken this morning, ISO 1000,Nikon D3S, Nikon 300mm F2.8, 1/2000s, F7.1. Still obsessed with B/W conversions and trying some extreme processing here, let me know if you like it or I must bin it, please. Internet on and off so no story for good night, just wishes of a great week ahead!

[Don Railton]

Hi Gabriela

I am a B&W novice but I will speak up early so my thoughts are not biased by other comments. I like the subject placement and the detail, of course its nice and sharp and I do like the low key look in portraits, all good. I do feel the contrast is bit too strong in this image however and the processing (I think..) has degraded the IQ in the eye. Maybe I am wrong here, not sure. I feel the large scales below the eye are a little too dominant. The remainder I really like.

regards

DON

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - I like the dark bg and the choice to go b&w with this. It's a little harsh and bright for me, I would give the midtones more depth in levels and curves. If it were mine, I would also lose the black frame. I might have gone for a bit more dof to have everything in focus against the black bg. You had the ss to do so. Let's see what others think.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

The contrast is certainly quite strong with not enough tonal range on the Iguana itself, but showing good detail here Gabriela, agree with Rachel that the black frame doesn't enhance here.
Look like f/11 would have been a better choice to cover the DOF.
So not a bin it , but feel this would be a better proposition in colour for me.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you friends! As I said above, I tried a bit of extreme processing here and went over the top with the tweaking, was not sure whether I liked it or not myself, so I wanted to hear what you thought of it. I think I'll bin this and then post the tamer version you'll probably like:w3


Thank you again, I really appreciate your honest feedback and constructive criticism:5

[Gabriela Plesea]

...so here's the Iguana in a previous not-so-wild version:w3, hope you like this more...I picked up some mild artefacts while wiewing this on the laptop and tilting the screen, those are from darkening the BG, but here it is, anyway...

Have a wonderful evening,

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - I do prefer it without the black frame. I think somewhere between the two versions with some selective dodging and burning would be best. In the rp, for me, you have gone too far in the opposite direction with the eye. It's about tonal range and in the rp you have gone darker throughout while in the op you were bright throughout. The best of both combined with a fuller spectrum of tonal range is what IMHO would be ideal.

TFS,
Rachel

[Don Railton]

I will second Rachels comments... leave the eye as per RP but push the remainder a little towards where you where with the OP.. love those little teeth showing..

regards

DON

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel, hello Don,

I am very happy to say our Internet connection at home has been restored, thanks to a genius technician from our service provider-we are now connected again!

Now...the Iguana. The second image is in fact the first processing attempt, after which I went a bit extreme with the brightness and posted that ridiculously bright image(OP). I agree that something in between would be ideal, so if you give me some time I shall redo it. Perhaps I should lose the black BG and stick to the original, will play around a bit and then post again-that is, if you are not bored with my attempts. Right now working on a colour version of the same Iguana, taken at F8.

Thank you so much for your kind comments, I still enjoy BPN so much, constantly learning and enjoying the input from everyone. I am always kin to improve and for that I rely on your honest criticism-much appreciated!

Have a great evening,

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

Kindly have a look at this very similar image taken only seconds later at F8. Cropped then removed some of the reds and yellows and sharpened. A bit of dodging here and there (he is now a dodgy character:2eyes2:). Just for interest' sake!

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - I prefer the color version. Such a wide range of colors. Did you clone out the far side of the lower lip or perhaps darken it too much? I think the face also needs some more selective sharpening.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel!

No, no cloning or darkening of the lower lip, only a tad of sharpening overall. This is not exactly the same image, and if I remember well I might have changed to spot metering here. He is indeed so colourful. And quite tame, I had him in my arms and he was a little tense at first, then relaxed to the extent that he closed his eyes as soon as I stroked him, his nails stopped digging in my flesh and he became heavy and soft to hold. I later placed him gently on a log in his enclosure and he was trying to come back to me while I was busy taking some images of him...

Not an ideal situation, but this Iguana was probably an exotic pet at some point. His mate sharing the same enclosure is not tame, much larger and I would not dare touch him. Dumazulu Reptile Center rescues all kind of creatures, an amazing and knowledgeable young man by the name of Gareth is doing his very best to create for them an environment that is as close as possible to their own. I also got to meet a little hedgehog on Sunday morning - cannot tell you how cute they are, and how beautiful. I think Andre has some images of him, I was too taken with the little chap to take any pics...

Wishing you a lovely evening and gentle sleep,