HEAD and TAILS !!

[haseeb badar]

Hello everyone !

Another Sambar Deer image taken at BOR Tiger Reserve .
These Guys were enjoying a bath at a Man made waterhole and were at ease in our presence . As a result got plenty of opportunity to try different perspectives ,thought this would fit this months theme .

Canon 1D MK IV , Canon 300 mm f/2.8 IS II with 2x T.C. , bean bag .

SS: 1/500 f/8 , iso: 800

Dpp 4 , CS 5 , levels ,selective colour, cropped from LHS for vertical framing,Sharpness.

All your C&C's are most welcome.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Haseeb well this fit well to this month theme , a bit too much though in terms of "cracking detail" .You have processed a bit too much in terms of detail and HL contrast from my POV .
I also think the SS was a bit slow as you have some motion blur in parts of the subjects i.e. right ear as viewed , no big deal in this case . But for this SS i think no movement is required in the subject :bg3:.

The overall colors are looking good to me , but the tonal range is missing some depth for my taste and the HL are blown in parts , at least looking here at my screen . You have the subjects standing out nicely against the BG and i do not mind the other body as a FG element , i know others will do not like it :wave:.
The two tails up do look funny though and are adding interest for me , in an ideal world the head would have been right between them and not shifted to one side , hey but it is not always possible .

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Haseeb, I think this posting illustrates now for you to really think about composition and the presentation of the subject, because as soon as you look through that viewfinder and press the shutter, a whole series of 'chain of events' then takes place. I think often we forget the journey (I hate jargon speak :S3:) we take to achieve the end result, as each action defines the path to the final prevention. You're getting to grips with your camera & PP well, so I feel you need to be more discerning in capturing/framing your subjects.

Andreas has given some good feedback & pointers already so hopefully I and others can add to plugging some other holes.

I might have (if you have it) added the 1.4 to the 500 for even more reach so really you have the neck & head. I find the two tails messy and creating a busy image, you eyes getting drawn away from the key feature, the face. The FG tail is not great and quite ugly, you really want the viewer drawn to one focal point. More SS would have been better, especially with the 2x and unlike the 500 I still think you have more FP's available which provides nice flexibility. The BKG is cool, but I might personally adjust the brighter greens to provide more 'subtle' look.

The LH eye (as viewed) looks lightened, I feel it would have been more shaded & darker, you can 'lift' things if required, but always try to retain a healthy balance and a realistic feel.

Finally, try to shoot in the format you finally wish to present the subject in, you retain better IQ and cropping isn't so harsh. If time allows shoot both, you then have the option. If you then print big later on, the result will not be great due to excessive cropping.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Haseeb - Andreas and Steve have given you some really extensive feedback and suggestions with which I agree. However, I will say that is always good to keep experimenting because it helps in the learning process and to develop your style.

TFS,
Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Finally, try to shoot in the format you finally wish to present the subject in, you retain better IQ and cropping isn't so harsh. If time allows shoot both, you then have the option. If you then print big later on, the result will not be great due to excessive cropping.



That is a very good point , will try to keep in my mind this piece of advice .

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Nice idea here Haseeb, but sadly it is not working for me. TFS.

[Steve Kaluski]

I will say that is always good to keep experimenting because it helps in the learning process and to develop your style.

Good point Rachel, by making errors we learn from them, Techs & PP can be learnt with time, but IMHO composition is the hardest of the three. Explore by trial & error, in that way you have an open mind to a degree and will look at things differently. However, I'm not sure about 'style' as 99.9% of things are a 'variation' on a theme, to date I think Peter Delaney has been the only one with a real 'style' to his work, but now we are going off.

Just keep things 'loose' Haseeb and being relaxed will help as things will flow, getting frustrated and it's a mountain to climb where nothing will go right LOL. :w3

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Hasseb,

Thank you so much for sharing another capture of the Sambar Deer. I find this quite amusing and I think I understand what made you press the shutter:)

I do like the surprised look of the deer and that big brown muzzle is quite delightful. The tails are meant to add a fun element to the image, not sure I would include the back side of the fellow who owns that wet tail though.

I am in agreement with a number of comments above, SS not quite enough IMO, HL under the tail a bit too hot, colours on the subject and BG I can live with although the back of the FG deer does not look that good, sorry Haseeb. I see Andreas and Steve have tackled just about everything in terms of techs, and glad the composition/framing was touched upon to some extent. Not much for me to add, just happy to see you experimenting and surely you are having fun, if this were mine I would have also shared this in the "Family, Friends, Fun" forum, I love to go there and make everyone smile from time to time.

Once again thank you for sharing. I enjoyed viewing ( still smiling:w3), and also reading the discussions above.

Kind regards,

[Marc Mol]

I applaud your theme attemp here Hasseb, but it quite hasn't come off here for mine, good tech critque from Andreas and compositional thought from Steve.

If you have the resolution and quality, I'd try for a tighter crop showing just the head/neck and the tail below.

TFS

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Gabriela and Marc , i guess this month's theme is going to be tough :)