Waterbuck

[Gerhard Weldhagen]

Portrait of a young waterbuck taken at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa during April this year. Canon 1dX II, 300 mm f2.8 II +2xTC III, 1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 500, handheld from vehicle, processed with PS CC. Thanks for looking.

[John Mack]

Great portrait. Love everything about this one. Nice light. Good detail and an excellent background.

[Basil Dardagan]

A beautifully sharp image with a killer background. Always love the heart shaped noses on these guys. The waterbucks coat looks a little darker than usual - not sure if that is the animal or something else

[haseeb badar]

Hi Gerhard -- Lovely portrait of the waterbuck. techs look good to me but would have preferred a bit more ss considering the fact that you were using a 2x T.C. and even slightest of movement affects the sharpness.

The blacks appear a bit to strong for my taste and sharpening has created a bit of crunchiness. Would back of on contrast and blacks to bring out more details in the subject which i feel should be there in your original file. I would also crop from the top for a tighter frame.

Is that an out of focus grass or leaf at the bottom of the buck ? bit unfortunate it is .

TFS !

[Gerhard Weldhagen]

Hi Gerhard -- Lovely portrait of the waterbuck. techs look good to me but would have preferred a bit more ss considering the fact that you were using a 2x T.C. and even slightest of movement affects the sharpness.

The blacks appear a bit to strong for my taste and sharpening has created a bit of crunchiness. Would back of on contrast and blacks to bring out more details in the subject which i feel should be there in your original file. I would also crop from the top for a tighter frame.

Is that an out of focus grass or leaf at the bottom of the buck ? bit unfortunate it is .

TFS !
Hi Haseeb,
Thanks for your comments. Very little sharpening was applied, the cruchiness you refer to is due to the fur being wet from thick fog which also cause the OOF bottom bit and the smooth background. I micro adjust this lens combo with Lensalign / Focus tune and it is tack sharp on the 1dx ii without having to fiddle too much.
Cheers mate,

Gerhard

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice portrait of an antelope that doesn't get much attention.
I do think you overdid the contrast and sharpening, evident in the sticky look of the fur/pelt.

[Gerhard Weldhagen]

Nice portrait of an antelope that doesn't get much attention.
I do think you overdid the contrast and sharpening, evident in the sticky look of the fur/pelt.

Morkel,

The ACR settings for the RAW image conversion is:

Contast 0
Clarity +2
Vibrance +2
Saturation +3
Sharpening 50 @ radius 0.8

I am not sure how you could do less than this?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Morkel,

The ACR settings for the RAW image conversion is:

Contast 0
Clarity +2
Vibrance +2
Saturation +3
Sharpening 50 @ radius 0.8

I am not sure how you could do less than this?

Gerhard, the settings are potentially misleading because without knowing what the starting point was we will be non the wiser. The profile initially selected will have the most initial impact on the image, I am therefore guessing you used either Adobe Standard or maybe Adobe Color. The sharpening - was this value refrring to "Amount" 50, what did you use for Detail and Mask... and Luminance & Color - they will also have an effect.
Having said that the image looks beautifully detailed and sharp and well composed. I also like the two tone background. From a personal viewpoint I would suggest a little less Contrast and a little more Shadows just to lift the darker elements.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Gerhard,

A well captured portrait of this beautiful species, thank you so much for sharing. Love the vertical framing here ( just thinking I might take a tad off the top if it were mine). BG is stunning.

I like those rich colours and tonality but at the same time find the image a bit contrasty in places. John is right, choosing the right profile makes a difference, image might initially look dull and flat but it's a great start. I personally use Camera Neutral or Camera Flat and build from there. At times I have to reduce contrast, reduce blacks, open shadows. I do not use the clarity tool.

Here is my attempt to reduce contrast and lift the shadows on the waterbuck - not so easy on an already processed image, so best if you start from RAW.

Lastly, a reminder for you to kindly comment on 3 to 5 images when you post your own - this is the best way to learn, build friendships, and continue receiving feedback from others.

Once again, many thanks for sharing - we value your contribution here in the Wildlife Forum:S3:

Kind regards,

[Gerhard Weldhagen]

Dear Gabriela,
Thanks for your interpretation of this image, it does look better.

"Lastly, a reminder for you to kindly comment on 3 to 5 images when you post your own - this is the best way to learn, build friendships, and continue receiving feedback from others."

I am primarily a bird photographer and despite having a large collection of wildlife images I rarely post or comment in the wildlife forum because I find the responses from some experienced wildlife shooters a bit hostile at times. I would rather comment on bird images as that is my area of interest.

All my best,

Gerhard

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you too Gerhard, appreciate your honest reply.

Based on what I read so far the responses you have received on this image so far are friendly and helpful. And I am certain that John, Basil, Haseeb and Jon would also benefit from a critique from you.

Kindly send me a PM, should you ever receive a hostile comment. We are a bunch of "nitpickers" here in the Wildlife Forum but love to learn from each other and communicate well.

Kind regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gerhard - I'm not sure who or why this thread was closed so I have reopened it. If it was intentionally closed by someone then they should shoot me a PM or email. A very nice portrait of the waterbuck. I agree the fur looks a little coarse but the light and colors are lovely. If you do get what you perceive as hostile comments, please alert one of the mods. If it was a mod, then ask a different one to take a look at the comments. There is never ill will intended in any of the comments in the Wildlife Forum. And yes, even though you are primarily an avian photographer, we would benefit from your constructive comments on images just the way you benefit from the comments you receive. Just tell us what you like or don't like about an image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gerhard Weldhagen]

[QUOTE=Gabriela Plesea;1194776]Thank you too Gerhard, appreciate your honest reply.

Based on what I read so far the responses you have received on this image so far are friendly and helpful. And I am certain that John, Basil, Haseeb and Jon would also benefit from a critique from you.

Kindly send me a PM, should you ever receive a hostile comment. We are a bunch of "nitpickers" here in the Wildlife Forum but love to learn from each other and communicate well.

Kind regards,[/QUOTE
Thanks Gabriela - the nitpickers would do well to look at Artie's recent comment regarding wetness of fur / feathers and the perceived appearance of over sharpening -http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/146176-Sushi-with-seaweed-salad?p=1195282#post1195282