Brown Hare

[Stuart Philpott]

A lovely encounter tonight ,took a goodly while to get to this shot,yes I know a bit big in frame:2eyes2:. But the joy of slowing moving to a guy with no cover at all, for most of the latter stages and us both being cool. I left him where he was,although after crawling about he did flatten when I didn't get up smoothly. No light, didn't want to push iso further really and at this time I prefer this f to the 5.6 i also tried played with TV too I like this at the mo but need time to really look at them hard. Shot hand held, lying prone, locked elbow/ Competing with steamed up glasses:bg3:

Thanks for all the thoughts on my last post,I was going to post a deer image but this encounter was so lovely I chose this from a couple of hours ago. Steve I am aware of taking my time with editing, but it was special for me,first time with a camera .so I thought I'd share on of the last images I took before backing away quietly.

Canon 1div 300f/2.8 2X iii
iso 3200
TV1/250
f7.1
Processed in dpp brought the blue histogramme slightly to the rightshadow end in an effort to prevent clipping a bit of gamma adjust black and white point and WB,not in that order
dropped highlights by one

take care all

Stu

[haseeb badar]

Hi Stu -- Very nice eye contact and the low POV helps to bring the viewer more in sync with the subject. Not sure the low POV completely helps here as the FG is causing hinderance with subject . Also I feel a round of sharpening is required to sharpen up the face , it appears to me a bit soft . Not familiar with colours of the subject but having seen the images of it on this forum I feel you have done a nice job with it .

TFS !

[keith mitchell]

Hi Stu,very well done getting this close, the thing I like most is the ruffed up texture of the fur which of course is how they are.Pity the Hare is a bit soft but am sure the face could be improved ,would be pleased if it was mine.

Keith.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Stu,

A sweet and almost sulky expression from this Hare, which I quite like. I also like the colour of the subject's fur: nice rich browns, a dash of black and some reds, I assume this is truly what this chap looks like in real life.

Not too big in the frame for me, my only complaint is the SS is too low. It should never be less than the size of your lens (in your case here, 300 + 2x converter, ouch). You could have gone for F 5.6 here: a bit more SS, a sharper subject, softer BG.

Keep practicing and have fun Stu, thank you so much for sharing:w3

Kind regards,

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Stu really stunning to get this close to the hare .
Really nice low POV and you have got some nice colors and tones.
1/250 sec is quite slow for the kit used ... but you got along quite well .
Keep it up ... go lout and shoot / practice .

I think you are on a good way Stu :cheers:

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Stu - Definitely a frame filler. Nice tones and colors. Great low pov. Here your field craft ability of being able to get close actually hurt the image in a couple of ways. One is the image being a bit tight. The other, of course, is that the closer you get, the narrower your dof. Any chance you have an image when you were 2-3 meters further away? Yes, you needed more ss too. But with each image you post, I see improvement. Keep at it.

TFS,
Rachel

[Stuart Philpott]

Hey every one:wave: I hope you are all well,thanks to all for the comments:cheers:

Guys,regarding the shutter speed, I felt I was between a rock and a hard place here ,with failing light. Although Andreas has shown me images he has taken with a 1Div at higher iso,I really felt that 3200 should be my max,as I didn't feel competent to deal with the higher noise created by a higher iso at this time. So I tried to make the best of what I had.I felt that if I failed on sharpness and my images had to be destined for the bin, then I I still had a magical experience with my hare and learnt a bit more not only about taking pics, but also my skill base field craft wise. So everything is really positive. Andreas i'm not there yet ,but I have to say thanks again for the help given !!

Gabriela, yes as in my notes I did try 5.6:S3:,but only right at the end and I actually preferred the f7.1, but frankly I have had little time as of yet to really go through what i took.

Guys what techs would you think I should have used,if I ever get this chance again? I utterly know my shutter was low I knew it at the time,but really need advice for next time. Many of the group have pointed this out I'm VERY grateful,but am very unsure of what I should have done to improve. With a 1Div as I understand things there is a limit to how much I should push iso. This bit is SERIOUSLY important to me. I knew at the time my approach had to be slow and that is born out ,I got to him. But, I need help with my camera skills here .


Rachel, yes I have more:S3:,I crawled a few yards took pics,a few more and stop again. Part of this was trying to bank an image part of this was my take on field craft:I was getting my mate used to the shutter noise gradually getting louder as I got closer. I find it difficult explaining my take on field craft,it is what it is I guess, there are years at play here,most of which is sub-conscious. I think I have understood the points you make fully though and huge appreciation for you making them.

Haseeb, the shot taken is off my elbow,this was as high as I felt I could go,I was desparately trying to be as small as possible (all my movements and approach were based on me presenting the smallest possible profile to him) ,so he didn't feel I was a threat. But yes I appreciate even this low crop of wheat,(it might just be barley) affected my image, I also took shots lower literally off the soil in an effort to be more solid and get something sharp,as I was aware of how slow my shutter was. I had time with my hare but not with the light. So I tried with all I had to get that face sharp,my breathing controlled(best I could) my shutter press the same.

Keith, your words to me on your hare thread were with me here,all the way, cheers mate:w3 !!


On colour, yes I feel this is what I see I would be gladly educated by folks whom know this wonderful animal. My monitor is not calibrated it is how it is,but on colour i feel I just got something that is right. It is not the best by any means,but I see the colour casts you educated good folks point out and what I am seeing in this picture is right for the colour I see in the wild. The crops(ie what is growing in the fields)) probably have just been given fertilizers so there was something in my looking at the blues: many a field looks a bit strange here,because of high nitrogen.

Guys, so many thanks for letting me share with you, your support encouragement and help:cheers:

If any one could address that what I should have done regarding camera specs at shot time i'd be so grateful. I had time to think here, rare in wildlife and am not convinced I made the best choices after musing the replies you all have so kindly given me. UK light will have me here again I need to know where to go next time,this is slightly under exposed,I tried with all I had to get shutter up and get this sharp. Leastways face wise,I believed from the off I would have to sacrifice some dof with him being diagonal to me as I closed in ,I SO feel I have missed something here

Everyone thank you so much:cheers:

take care

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Stu, just to add, however I may overlap some of the previous comments.

- Use the 1.4 rather than the 2x where possible, remember it has NO moving parts, just magnify's and so any camera shake will be transmitted down the line. Also you will have room to crop, this is just too tight.
- Focus point looks below, needs to be bang on that eye
- Good low POV, feel you are right with the subject
- If the head was a fraction away from you it would have helped on DoF (eye to nose)
- Personal taste, but a fraction less saturation????

Looks like you are making head way in both shooting & PP, well done.


TFS
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

You've received some good feedback thus far.
I like the low angle and soft light, but too feel it's a tad tight and a bit shallow in the DOF department.
Keep them coming!

[Stuart Philpott]

Morkel, Steve, many thanks both. :cheers:


Steve frankly If I'd have had an inkling I'd get to this point I'd have the bare lens !! Cheers on the focus point,yeah a tad off,I'll tighten that . Saturation nowt done,second time picked up on,how is it happening Steve, under exposure??????
Morkel ,cheers yes I know tis tight:w3 The guy that paints, wishes he had two cameras here one with a bare 2.8 one with a wide angle. Cheers for the thoughts and encouragement

take care both

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

Saturation nowt done,second time picked up on,how is it happening Steve,

It will probably be from when you process the image, either from what you put in during the conversion of the file, or partly due, if you have set it, within the Picture Style.

Once you get PS you can then tweak the image with a few more gizmo's and hide the FG stuff, LOL. Sharpening the OP has not helped, but did drop the Saturation a little.

[Stuart Philpott]

My apologies Steve, I didn't spot your post, usual story! Thanks so much for the pointers, plus the repost,always informative ! The picture style is set to fine detail : a tip from out mutual friend Andreas:wave: I'll have a dig and try and get to grips with how this setting effects saturation to my eyes in dpp It's very interesting to me that the sharpening dropped saturation,trying to get a handle on how all these facets interlink during post is no easy thing,but I'll get there.
Again my apologies for the slow response,it's not lack of gratitude ,just an oversight on my part
take care

Stu

[Steve Kaluski]

No worries Stu., hope you get a chance to get out this weekend, or have you some snow??? :S3: