Female Gorilla yawning - What bad looking teeth!!

[Claude Ostfeld]

Nikon D300
Nikkor 18-200 F3.5-F5.6 AF
200mm
1/320
f/13.0
ISO 1600
-2/3 EV
No Flash
Program AE
Date and Time (Original) 2008:09:18 09:47:06

Another member of the Umabano Gorilla family on Mount Visoke, Virunga Chain, Rwanda

[Ken Watkins]

Great POV and pose, nasty teeth:D

Shadow does not bother me what else can you expect in the woods.

Do you have a little more room on top?

[Claude Ostfeld]

Her name is Umurimo and she is a mother gorilla within the Umubano Group. Her spouse is Charles that you already have seen. If you look carefully you'll note the reddish tuft of fur on her forehead that has some magenta tones that many noticed on the image of Charles. I was surprised when I saw them to see:
a) how "human" their behavior is
b) that their fur is not at all pitch black as I had always thought (maybe the pictures I had seen had been processed with PhotoShop) but a combination of colors.
This is the full image uncropped.
She is about 5 feet tall and must weigh about 220 lbs (100kg) and was on a mound over the 8 of us.
I have a whole sequence of her yawn that starts with her mouth closed and gradually opens wider. Every time I look at that sequence I can't help yawning too. :)

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Claude, I think I prefer the second post as it's more habitat and putting the subject into context for me. I like the POV and the position within frame. Looks like you were fighting for light based on the techs, so well done, although judging by the BG it does look quite bright, did you lighten/brighten the image?

OK, so these are my thoughts Claude.

I find the plant in the bottom rh corner a little to distracting and my eye keeps getting drawn to it, hence I guess your original post. I might duplicate you image and in Selective Colour just drop the Magenta in the Red just to help the over chest & colouring, although as you stated before, Gorillas do have a slight Hue to them. I might also just play with the Levels & Shadow/Highlight just to see if you can get some more detail, I think there is slightly more in the mouth.

Will PM you a link to more Gorillas if you like them

TFS
Steve :cheers:

[Claude Ostfeld]

Hi again Steve,
I didn't play around with the colors because I was afraid to make an interesting scene look artificial.

Mountain gorillas avoid the sun like the plague because of their heavy fur that is useful in the cold and humid forest to keep them warm but makes them overheat when they are in the sun even briefly.

1600 ISO is the bare minimum to get decent shots in most cases and I know that others go even higher.
Luminous lenses are a must have.
When I will go again (who knows when) I will bring something like an 85 1.4 with me

That scene was a fluke. It was the usual grey overcast day (usual for those parts) up on the slope deep inside the forest after a 4 hour trek uphill for the most part in yucky mud to get there. For just a minute or so the clouds broke open and the sun was shining bright. The original was shot with EV -0.3 so possibly the image could probably be darkened a bit in post (EV -1 for example).

I am going to try this weekend to play with the Levels & Shadow/Highlight just to see if I can get some more detail. I also have Photoshop though I rarely use it.

I will upload some more of these Gorilla images in the coming days.

[Steve Kaluski]

I also have Photoshop though I rarely use it.

So how do you edit your images Cluade, I assume Nikons own RAW converter, then what? Be interested to know. BTW what version of PS are you using?

cheers
Steve

[Claude Ostfeld]

I started with Capture NX2 but it is generally much too slow.
I am now using LightRoom 3 more and more which needs some getting used to but I find it intuitive enough.
I use the LR export command to produce jpgs from my raw files for uploading here and elsewhere.
I have version 6 of PS. I never bothered to upgrade because I have never felt the need - as yet.
I guess the issue is that I started with slides in the 1970's and post processing was hardly ever an issue.

OOF, overexposed, etc just got discarded. With digital I am learning rapidly that post processing is needed to compensate for the limitations of the digital image itself which can rarely immediately compete, in my opinion, with say velvia (to name one example).
Digital images become as good as slide images with some competent post processing.
Slide images are either good or useless. There rarely are in betweens.

I started with DSLR's in 2004 and quickly added new equipment as it became available. The fact that my lenses are still good is an added benefit but digital imagery has meant that I have had to re-learn a lot about photography. Alkthough I still have some excellent film cameras I don't use them any longer.
Ciao for now!
Claude

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Claude, thanks for that, good background.

Yes, for me you cannot beat film, but sadly it's not so forgiving, nor can you really play with it as you can with Digital, so there is a trade off. Still have my EOS 1V for film, but not sure when that might see the light of day. Velvia was the best, giving superb results and the reds & blues, well...

Claude you are showing your age :D:D, however I can remember using retouchers for 16 x 12 & 10 x 8 transparencies for ads at alarming costs, frightening how long it would take compared to now with Macs.

Anyway, look forward to seeing more digital images.

Steve

[Marc Mol]

Agree also with a preference for the second posting.
A fine capture nonetheless, considering the harsh light. So well done Claude :cheers:




Yes, for me you cannot beat film, but sadly it's not so forgiving, nor can you really play with it as you can with Digital, so there is a trade off. Still have my EOS 1V for film, but not sure when that might see the light of day.

Steve

Last time I saw the Gorillas was back in '93 Canon EOS slide film days also Steve.
I must say I'm having more fun these days with digital (Nikon).:D

[Harshad Barve]

nice image and great discussions
TFS

[Robert Amoruso]

I like the reposted crop. I also feel you did well handling a very tough exposure. Detail in the mouth a real plus as pure black there would not look good. Great teeth???:2eyes2: