Elephant on the plains

[Hilary Hann]

Masai Mara; 7D; 300mm; bean bag; ISO1000; f27; 1/180; processed in Nik silver - opacity set at 80% to let some of the underlying colour through as the conversion was a little hard for my taste. Comments cheerfully accepted. :)

[Paul Taylor]

Hi Hilary. Really liked the lion, but don't have anything to add. I thought that with this one, maybe a much less even vignette, with the tree tops and the right side left brighter might help because (i) I think the trees seem an important part of the picture (ii) the elephant will appear to be less close to the edge, but still have the same amount of space to walk into if that is what you were after. I like the conversion with the very white (gazelles?) adding interest, but am not sure that the natural, slightly green tint is the right one. Perhaps in both cases a matter of taste, but simple to change and have a look at.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Paul for your comments, much appreciated. I'll have a look at some of your suggestions over the weekend but I agree that the success of things like vignettes and tints can depend very much on the taste of the viewer. Impalas in the background. :)

[Robert Amoruso]

Hilary,

I like what you are trying to do. I like the composition and the juxtaposition of the elephant and the trees in the BG. I think the impalas are so small, they are not recognizable (at least in this small post) and should be eliminated. I like the mounds in the earth as that helps to break up the expanse from FG to BG. I agree the vignette is too dark.

I would have preferred to have the elephant coming towards and not away from you.

I am looking for more along these lines. Thanks for posting.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Robert for your comments, appreciated.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Hilary - I like this image and agree with a lot of Robert's comments but I think the vignette is really a personal taste issue. One other thing is that the tusk seems very bright or hot compared to rest of the image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

I quite like the tone in this B&W conversion Hilary, just not sure that the vignette is right at it's encroaching on your Ele.
2 weeks and I'm Mara bound!
TFS