Another Beastie

[Fred Canter]

Continuing with my lizards...
I have an ongoing project on these guys, so I need all the help I can get.
Different light made for a unique capture for this species.
Nikon D3s, 600 f/4 VRII @ f/8, 1/800, ISO 200.
Cropped some from the bottom and the top.

[Steve Kaluski]

I have an ongoing project on these guys, so I need all the help I can get.

Fred, what exactly are you looking for in ways of help?

Steve

[gail bisson]

I really like the light, HA and composition.Beautiful colors. I might tone down the green area above the nose but otherwise no nits,
Gail

[Fred Canter]

Fred, what exactly are you looking for in ways of help?

Steve

Steve, just a normal critique will help a lot. Like Gail's mention of the green spot, I was undecided to work on it or not, so didn't. Other eyes help a lot.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Fred.

Technically there is not a huge amount that's wrong, good detail & depth, with a nice POV and rich, vibrant colours. Perhaps a really dark BKG would help isolate the subject, as the colours although sympathetic to the subject, I feel are a little to close. Therefore some contrasting colour might work better? I would also try to avoid some of the dark shadows, especially in the eye. Is this in a controlled environment? You could also try using a very, very wide angle lens with a pre focus set up & remote, which would give some quirky, yet unusual results set low or embeded into the ground?

Might want to also post in OOTB too.

TFS
Steve

[Arthur Morris]

Neat creature and sharp. The dark shadows bordering on black are not pleasing to my eye. Some flash to even out the exposure and reduce contrast might have helped a lot.

[Fred Canter]

Thanks Fred.

Is this in a controlled environment?
Steve

Nope nothing is controlled, I haven't found a pattern to their movement except they will sleep in the same tree, or one very near, every night. I like the idea of the wide angle if I can figure out how to set it up. I normally try to spot one on the ground and crawl into range, sometimes it works other times it doesn't. I'm hoping by asking about a controlled environment you're not thinking these are tame animals. If that's the case just so everyone knows, these are wild animals living in the wild.

All are good points in your reply, thanks.

[Fred Canter]

Neat creature and sharp. The dark shadows bordering on black are not pleasing to my eye. Some flash to even out the exposure and reduce contrast might have helped a lot.
Arthur, thanks for your input. I was trying something different with this photo and have lots of these guys photographed just the way you stated. I just had a quick look at my catalogue and I have several frames shot right after this one where the flash was on.

[Hilary Hann]

Never having seen one of these creatures, I find the image quite compelling. The detail of scales and extraordinary colour appear other worldly. I would agree on the green background smudge being slightly distracting and would prefer the heavy black shadow areas have some detail so look forward to some more postings with some fill flash to compare.

[Rachel Hollander]

Fred - all good suggestions above. I too like the vibrant colors, the detail in the scales and the low pov.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Apart from the shadows, the detail, colour and overall quality are very well handled Fred, BG for me is not a huge concern.
TFS

[Ken Watkins]

Apart from the shadows, the detail, colour and overall quality are very well handled Fred, BG for me is not a huge concern.
TFS

Plus one from me

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Fred,
I was going to mention fill flash but as you already tried that, so will be nice to see for comparison. This one has some appeal with the colors but the shadows are a bit distracting to me. The ground appears to be a bit too reddish and green? Perhaps desaturating it a bit will further pop the lizard? Just some thoughts. The comp is excellent!

[Brendan Dozier]

This is really nice, Fred. Great looking lizard, love the texture and colors, good suggestions above.

[Fred Canter]

Thanks everyone, it is great to get all the help! The comments on the shadows helps to show how others view the photos, as I tend to really enjoy heavy shadows when photographing this species. I have many photos of these guys using flash and was experimenting as I tend to like much darker type of photos than most. Now I have several new ideas for photos of this species, so I'll continue to work and get the opinions here.
In the next few days I'll post a different photo without all the shadows.

Again, I say thanks, this has been a great help.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Fred, great positive feedback for all us, I think we will ALL be interested in the forthcoming results.

Might be worth including in the intro next time some key points you like in the photography, so it gives us a better insight into your thinking, if that is OK.

Good luck and 'lets be careful out there'. :w3 Oh, am I showing my age with that phrase? :bg3:

Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Interested in seeing more images of these characters, Fred! I like your use of shadows here - then again I dig contrasty images in general :tinysmile_shy_t: