The Eye of the Beholder ..... or is it the Ear ?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi all , just a quick switch from the Seals to Africa .
Gotta inspired by Loi and Steve .
Already posted some examples of this specimen some time ago , so here is another one . Not sure if i am happy with the coloration , somehow 50/50 on color and the strong contrast .But leave it for the moment and i like to get to know your thoughts .

Raw is way too dark for my normal shooting technique :eek3: as i shoot ETTR on steroids normally , must have turned the dial during shooting this lady .

Canon EOS 1D MK IV
EF 500 IS L
Swinging lens support

F 5,6 ; Iso 400 ; 1/1600 sec

Processed with DPP 4 and PS CC ; cropped to square from landscape , LHS is as shot .

Thanks for looking and leaving a comment to previous posting .

Cheers Andreas

[Dumay de Boulle]

Nice and creative with nice detail and it really pops from the bright BG!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - the eye is fantastic and the square crop works on this one. I agree with you about the color of the bg. Have you thought about or tried a conversion?

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andreas, certainly a 'graphic style' in it's portrayal, I just wonder if the eye needs a bit more depth of colour to it, being a bit more richer as the focal point????

TFS
Steve

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Andreas,

Yep, love it, the eye stands out, big time! I think I can see a vehicle and a big lens popping out of its window, in the reflection? :w3

Eye detail just great, I am fine with the colours but find the BG a tad problematic - I guess you did reduce some of the brightness already? Still a bit overwhelming to me. It would probably make a lovely print - am I correct in saying paper or canvas would be more forgiving? Some crazy ideas run through my mind but I have not tried them yet, so not sure...Will get back to you on this, Boetie:tinysmile_shy_t:

Hope you have a wonderful evening, chat soon,

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi folks thanks a big bunch for your comments , as always much appreciate your input .

Gabriela i am actually fine now with the BG , what i do not like is the starting posterization in the BG in the LoRes file :Whoa!:.

I think Steve pointed out the eye that could be enhanced , well good idea Maestro .......here it is with a pushed eye !

WDYT ?

Cheers Andreas

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Andreas

I think the eye tells you it is at Craig Lockhart close to Mata-Mata in the Kalahari.
I can now understand why the Bushmen ate the eye first after the hunt- they were bloody thirsty and loved a pushed eye!
BTW- love the contrast and the detail in the horn...
:cheers:

[Gabriela Plesea]

The eye is now truly bulging:2eyes2:, well done Andreas!

I cannot see posterisation in the BG, much as I looked for it...

Looks great to me, you've got the "eye" for these things! Congrats Boetie, I detect a tinge of red now in the eye which I quite like, very vivid!

Good night Andreas:wave:

[haseeb badar]

Hi Andreas -- this is another brilliant image ! that eye just pops out ! TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

I think the RP is an improvement, some may feel (and I might be one of them), you could just knock it back a fraction, but this is more personal taste I think. Overall for me, everything is a bit more 'balanced' now.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Andre ,Gabriela , Hasseb and Steve for your replies , always good to hear different thoughts/views .

Steve i am surprised about your mystic answer ....... LOL , some may and you might ...... that is not clear ...... but you are not alone , as i was moving up and down with the opacity of the Group . Finally i was ending up with x % and was not sure 100 % of looking a bit too artificial :t3, could have gone x % lower and would have been still
an improvement .Thanks again for the eye pointer, moved it up a notch .

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Andreas, nothing mystical about the reply, you have already answered it. Some people may wish, myself included, if this is at 100% opacity, feel you could drop it down a percentage?

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I hope my thoughts don't sound odd. I would love to see that ear in whole!
I love the overall feel of the image. Really great contrast against the plain bright BG.
Good work Andreas!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Akos , no does not sound odd !!!
I cannot count how many different crops i have from this female , as she came very close for a wild Oryx .I have cut off ears /horns/ half faced , full faced and so forth , all taken with the 500 or even with the 1.4 TC attached . Sometimes she was too close to focus .

Thanks again , Andreas

[Morkel Erasmus]

Andreas - LOVE the crop/framing, nice OOTB thinking.
Repost rocks with the eye popping more!
:cheers: