ALERT and Kicking !

[haseeb badar]

Hello everyone !

Here is a typical Alert pose of the Sambar Deer considered as the largest Deer and one of Tigers preferred prey . We have seen such alert behaviour many a time but it is difficult to find them in the clearing .

Canon 1D MK IV, Canon 500mm f4IS II , Bean Bag

SS:1/640, f/5.6,iso: 500

Dpp 4, CS5, levels, selective colour, NR,Sharpening . FF shot added a slight canvas at the bottom of the image .

All your C&C's are most welcome !

[Gabriela Plesea]

This is a beauty, Hasseb!

Love the "wet" look of this deer, and would like to know more about the species. Beautiful pose, well framed and nice colours too, mmm...vegetation is so vibrant - was this image taken after the rain? Love the greens!

Superb stance from the subject with that front limb frozen high up and I like the presentation overall, a very attractive image indeed...just how long have you been keeping this from us, LOL?

I appreciate you disclosing the fact that you had to add canvas. It does look a bit odd in places, but the extra space does benefit the framing overall. Perhaps you could experiment with various methods, I guess there are other ways of adding that extra bit, other than just cloning in. Have you any other frames from this sighting with more space at the bottom? Let us see what the others say, I certainly enjoyed viewing and hope you can tell us more in the future about this unique species. Something so lovely and vulnerable about the eyes...

Kind regards, once again thank you for sharing, a pleasure to view and I took my time, I am certain I shall revisit this:)

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Excellent image Haseeb. Very nice pose and the raised foot and tail with nice HA and eye contact make this image.

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Gabriela and Sanjeev !

@Gabriela -- This is taken in the month of sept normally considered as the last leg of monsoon ( the rainy season in subcontinent ) hence the lush greens all around as the forest turns vibrant during and after the monsoon season .

Unfortunately i don't have any frames where their is more space at the bottom . Was clicking its fawn moments before the mother arrived in its place and gave this alert pose and in the process I forgot to check my composition :( !

thank you for your honest opinion !
Haseeb.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Haseeb - The pose is great and the vibrant greens brought by the rains look good and not overdone. I agree with Gabriela's comments about the bottom of the frame and the adding canvas.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Digging the pose here, Haseeb!
I could also see something weird going on at the bottom even before reading your comments about adding canvas. Did you use content aware and stretching or pure cloning?

[haseeb badar]

Thank you everyone .
@ Morkel - i use the cloning tool on the added canvas but for the RP i have used the content aware method.
here is a RP with the added canvas at the base . WDYT ?

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Haseeb!

I just had to come back and look again, the more I see this the more I like it, this is one very special image and I forgot to say the raised tail also adds something to the pose. I just love the way the subject "enters" the frame!

Cloning, content aware, not always easy and I personally try to avoid it. But I think the RP looks much, much better, well done:)

Please show us more Sambar Deers if you have, I think the little ones must be so cute?

Kind regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Haseeb, nice capture, I don't recollect you shooting with a 500, is this new???

Shooting with a fixed lens isn't always that easy at times and yes, it can be very frustrating where time does not allow you to pull back to allow more space around, or in this case below. two or Three meters back and the framing would have been probably spot on. Content aware is better for this manipulation, but PSCC2015 is more improved and has better features, however I think you did well and your PP has really jumped ahead, however you may find that in certain instances it's a culmination of various tools to create the correct look. I like the look to camera, but the raised leg is priceless.

If it was me, I might have removed the stone in the bottom LH corner and 'blended' the dark green blob in the grass so you eye isn't drawn to it, albeit minimal. Just keep an eye on your SS Haseeb.

These are big animals and certainly would keep a Tiger well fed.

TFS
Steve

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Gabriela and Steve !

Yes Steve , recently acquired the new 500 f4 , did a one day test on the field managed to get this image but the first day was full of focus problems with the 500mm . Found out it had firmware issue so sent it to canon service Center they upgraded the lens's firmware and now it is back and working fine .

Have to practice with it so that proper sharpness is achieved when shooting wide open .

[Steve Kaluski]

Is it the MKI or MKII, if it's the II then you will get better results with the newer Canon bodies i.e. 5DMKIII or 1DX, but the reduction in weight is great for HH options.

[haseeb badar]

It's the new version MK II .

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Haseeb very nice pose of the Sambar , i like the lifted leg and the skeptical look to the camera . Lovely overall colors .
How are you getting along with the new toy ? I use mine also on the MK IV , no issues for me with this combo ...... it delivers stunning results , but as Steve said it does work maybe better with the newer camera models . From my POV the real glory comes into play with the usage of the MK III TC ´s , then it is working as a treat , when compared to the MK IV . When used with the MK IV and the TC´s ....... not a real bummer .
The image does seem a bit soft overall ? Why did you use NR at ISO 500 ?
I might give the mid tones a slight kick when looking at the image , a bit thin looking for my taste , but this might be just me .

Nice frame Haseeb , TFS Andreas

[Marc Mol]

Very nice pose and vibrant colours here Haseeb, granted the softness issue, with the RP working much better for me here.

TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

Haseeb, the 500 is a great investment that really will deliver. Don't get too hung up about it's workings as there is only two options available bodywise and you will miss the reach of the MKIV. Just get used to it and ultimately have fun. The biggest difference you will notice is the IQ between the 300 & the 500, the 300 will deliver far better, but then you have the reach of the 500, often a trade off, but you will love it!!!!

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Steve , looking forward to get the best out of it .

[haseeb badar]

Thank u Andreas and Marc !

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Haseeb

Love the pose!
Stretching with Content Aware does make big difference!
The greens is something we do not see that often here in a very dry KZN?
Enjoy your 500!

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Andre !!