White Rhino Portrait

[Rachel Hollander]

Another image taken on my 2009 trip to South Africa. We spent a good part of a morning with this white rhino so I was able to take lots of images and play with comps in camera.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 330mm
1/250
f5.6
ISO 200
HH from safari vehicle, levels, curves, slight s/h adjustments and sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, you are certainly pulling them out the bag. :bg3: Love the colour and that small branch/twig is a cracking addition IMHO, like the slight twist/HA too.

Just some thoughts:
- Would flip the image
- Add some brightness/Contrast to the Rhino only, just seems to pick out things
- Apply some more sharpening, trust me it comes up a treat. The detail is really nice.
- Watch the slight halo appearing along the base of the horn to the nostril R to L and in some parts the masking
- If you want to, remove the black marks in the BKG under the chin area
- Any more area below?

This has all the makings of a nice Duo tone too, as it adds a little bit of colour, but not as stark as a B/W

TFS
Steve

[gail bisson]

Hi Rachel,
I like the tight composition and good details. I see a magenta cast and a sharpening halo around the bottom of horn and face.I like the little twig caught in his horn. I think this would be awesome as a black and white,
gail
Oops, Steve and I posted at the same time. Sorry for the repetition.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve and Gail. This is full frame. Slight halo noted. I'll play with the duotone and b&w. Gail - is the magenta by the base of the horn? The horn actually had a little bit of a reddish tint to it. Thanks again,

Rachel

[Pieter de Waal]

Hi Rachel, excellent Rhino profile, nice low angle, good detail and texture and as mentioned the suspended twig is a nice touch. I might consider a little more room at the bottom.

[Robert Amoruso]

I like the details - carried throughout due to good DOF and the humorous branch.

I feel I would have preferred to see the ears however.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Your compositional approach here really focuses on the details and that super twig stuck on the horn, a great addition as Steve said :t3.
I would be interested in a repost incorporating Steve's additions. It is quite sharp for me and don't mind the orientation, but curious to see the result anyway...

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks everyone. I'll play with it tonight and post the results.

Rachel

[Rachel Hollander]

Here's a repost following Steve's suggestions except I did not have any more room below. I did flip it though that is not a manipulation I am comfortable with, nor one I really see the point of. I'll post the b&w in the next frame.

Thanks again,

Rachel

[Rachel Hollander]

Here's the b&w suggested by Steve and Gail.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Ken Watkins]

Rachel,

I'll stick to the OP as neither of the reposts seem to add much. Like you I realy do not see the point in the flip.

I am with Robert on a preference for including the ears, i.e a whole head shot.

The halo which seems to run along the entire bottom of the head does not bother me as it is very slight, and probably caused by using S/H.

In my opinion there is a slight magenta cast, and the image needs an overall boost, plus a tad more sharpening for presentation here.

Here is my repost with the sharpening slightly overemphasised

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Ken, appreciate the repost.

[v.p.nurdeen]

Hi Rachel,
Beautiful close up with great details.
VPN

[Hilary Hann]

Rachel, lots of good comments made already. Nice detail and very complimentary background. Love the quirky stick. I am feeling the loss of the ears, but like what you've done despite that.

[Marc Mol]

A fine portrait here Rachel, with Ken's RP really nailing it with the added texture & detail from sharpening. Would just back it off very slightly for mine.
TFS

[Pieter de Waal]

Hi Rachel, thanks for the reposts however I still prefer your OP.

[Dumay de Boulle]

I think the sharpening in the OP as well as the texture shown looks perfect, I do like the colors in Kens post and think what he has done re texture and contrast would work well as a B&W. The flip has worked nicely and I would like to see a bit more space at the bottom! Acacia branch on the horn adds nicely! Very nice and TFS Rachel!

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.

Rachel