Grazing zebras

[Hilary Hann]

Found these zebras late afternoon in the Mara North Conservancy.
7D; EF300IS + 1.4 TC; ISO 800; f19; 1/250. Still stuck on Tv, apparently! :) Thinking about trying the auto ISO, has anyone used it with success?

[Ken Watkins]

Hilary,

Sticking to the image A little rotation is needed, unless there really was a slope.

As for the 7D I have no experience with it but I know somebody who has, try buying this

https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=285

I have the MkIV guide and found it very useful for setting up.

[Marc Mol]

The angle is too low for mine Hilary, as it's clashing with the treed BG. I do like the way your thinking though.
I use Auto ISO on my Nikons when action is fast and light is low, especially for BIF's where you require at times S/S of +2000.
TFS

[Sabyasachi Patra]

A slightly higher angle would have shown the zebra's mouth. The saturation seems to be on the higher side. You need to be careful with the auto ISO, else, you can be shooting at ISO 12800 or higher. You can continue to shoot in TV. But control the ISO depending upon the requirements (read aperture). In filming, it is better to use manual.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks for the comments. Ken, the ground was sloping so although I could rotate it wouldn't have been real (not that it always matters if it is real, I guess :) ).Marc, fair point on the low angle, I was considerably lower than the animals at this point. Sabya, I haven't added any saturation, if anything I have pulled it down. It was about 15 mins before sunset and very rich lighting. I've had this problem before with images posted around this time of day and even though I've de-saturated somewhat, no one can believe the richness and colour. :o Thanks for the feedback on the ISO. Manual isn't always an option for me in some of the heavily populated wildlife areas such as the Mara, I find too much is happening all around to want to be worrying about all the settings all the time. OK in some of the other parks I visit, such as Tsavo, you can go half to an hour without much action. Thats why I thought about the auto ISO, if the SS is critical and I want a particular aperture, the ISO may not be so important … assuming daylight variations, not early morning or late evening.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary, not ideal, but it might give a starting point as the image has a slight cast (yellow?) and looks very flat IMHO.

Sorry had a quick play, if you go to colour balance and move the bottom slider right (Blue) right, ditto the Cyan left, up the exposure, a fraction more brightness, contrast, saturation & rotate CCW. Does it work? Best to do it on the 16bit TIFF than a small file like this, more control.

BTW Looks like a dust bunnies too?

TFS
Steve ;)

[Hilary Hann]

Dust bunnies … I missed those! Not sure about the repost as I had tried something similar and decided that I didn't like the loss of detail in the whites. I'm sure I'm wrong, but that was my idea at the time. Always appreciate the advice, suggestions and repost so thanks Steve. :)

[Steve Kaluski]

No worries, just a thought. Difficult to suggest without illustrating the changes. The DB is in the sky to the lhs above the grass, half way between the tree & the edge of the image?

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve, funny that the minute you mentioned the dust bunnies, I could see them but when getting the image ready didn't notice them at all. :(
I'm not sure about this image either, I just liked the colour which is so opposite to the usual reds and browns you get with wild zebras but would have been happier without the trees right behind the animals and with them right at the top of the ground, not just behind. But if these kinds of images aren't posted, we can't learn from them. Cheers, Hilary.

[Steve Kaluski]

The trees don't worry me and does add something, but for a cleaner image, then yes, no trees, blue sky the perfect picture.

BTW, just a thought, did you have a polariser on here, if so that will explain things.


But if these kinds of images aren't posted, we can't learn from them.

110% agree Hilary. Appreciate the exchange. :cheers:

[Hilary Hann]

I don't remember whether I used a polariser, but I don't think so. I had used it earlier in the day, but always take it off after the specific shot. It certainly is a gleamingly blue sky so wouldn't swear either way. I have a feeling that I'll be taking a lot fewer images on my Jan trip but don't know whether that is good or not. Some of the photos people have liked here are ones I wasn't initially going to post at all. :confused: Just goes to show that wildlife photography is as much an art as any other type of photography and that they beauty if in the eye of the beholder. :)

[Harshad Barve]

this is great learning thread , thanks everyone for contributing ,
TFS this Hilary

[Hilary Hann]

My pleasure Harshad, I love learning about all the different things other photographers see and feel.:)

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Hilary I have used the auto ISO but would not recommend, much rather set what I need at the moment. The few times I have used it and left it on have gotten some strange settings btw that camera will perform well, no question !!!

Re-post wise I think the blue is a little intense Steve? Would brighten the original just a bit but would try to conserve the late afternoon light/look !!

[Rachel Hollander]

Holary - haven't experimented with the auto ISO but have found Artie's guide to be helpful. I think the OP looks more natural than the repost but maybe somewhere in between the two.

TFS,
Rachel