Tiger train

[AdityaPadhye]

Four tiger cubs cooling off at a water hole in TATR.
Shot in the afternoon, so light was a bit harsh

Canon EOS 7D
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II + 2x Canon III TC
1/800s
Handheld
f/7.1
ISO640

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Aditya - fun image but I think it would work much better as a pano with most of the top bg cropped off.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Aditya, what a wonderful sighting, not just one, but FOUR!!!! Glorious.

Again, for me the image looks 'sooty' it doesn't appear clean, if that makes sense. Harshad had the same issue, but Morkel, Rachel & Craig K seem to have avoid this and is probably down to their PP, so perhaps they may be able to make some suggestions on how to get around this. I might apply some Curves to lift the Tigers, this is where you need to alter the line, not just a pre-set. Perhaps add some Vibrance & a hint of 'selective' brightness on the Tigers again. I might also add some NR to the BKG just to help things, as it looks like you have some understandable heat haze. May be some selective sharpening, again applied only to the Tigers?

Saying all that, I think you did well in the harsh light, but would like to know why you went for +0.33 in compenstion?

Now this is purely optional, how you feel about things, if you do amend the image then it's always best to clearly state the changes applied:
- I would remove the yellow blade of grass/vegetation on the LH Tiger
- Man-made pools are a necessity, but not the prettiest of items so this could go if you were inclined? It's not that clear to most people what it is without it being highlighted in the text.

I can understand Rachel's point about the alternative crop which is a good one, personally I am happy either way, but might come in on the RHS to reduce the concrete lip of the pool and go for a 1024 x 724px format.

I don't think you need me to RP to clarify, I think you have it all.

TFS
Steve

[Harshad Barve]

It was lovely sighting indeed , VWD in given conditions
TFS

[Ken Watkins]

What great sighting, the light was certainly not on your side for this one. Darkening the BG and NR might help a little.
Why oh why can they never build artificial water holes with the edges disguised it is just as bad here in Africa.

[AdityaPadhye]

@Steve, I was on evaluative metering and the camera was exposing for the bright brown bg, so the cubs were being underexposed. So over exposed a bit. I got your re-edits in the mail, will try the third option on this image and repost here.
@Ken, yes the water holes look quite ugly :( Gives the feel of a zoo to the image. AFAIK there was a kill nearby to this waterhole hence the whole family was loitering in the proximity. I'll be visiting TATR again on the 16th of this month, will hopefully get to see these cuties again :D

[Ken Watkins]

Aditya,

Good luck on your next visit

Steve,

Would it not be better for everybody else if you shared your reposts and the methodology behind them

[Steve Kaluski]

Would it not be better for everybody else if you shared your reposts and the methodology behind them

There were various options of which:
a. As you can only post one image I wanted Aditya to make the call and if he wanted to, post a reply with the reworked image
b. I will post if Aditya thinks it beneficial or wishes to compare to his RP
c. The methodology is in my Critique

[Dumay de Boulle]

WOW identicle head position on alternating Tigers. Thats looks preety cool. I would also like to see more cropped from the top and mayebe some blur to soften the BG textures.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Aditya, OK his is version 3 from the various options suggested, obviously as you said in our exchange, you are planning to post your RP at some point tomorrow. Although you have a version with the waterhole completely retouched from you OP, I think if you have reservations about cloning or feel uneasy about tackling this, then cropping tighter on the RHS may be the option to run with.

So:
- Removed yellow grass blade & concrete in view
- Colour adjustments as per previous comment, not ideal, but gives a flavour
- Applied small amount of NR to the BG
- Cropped to a 3x2 format

Rachel, Aditya has a pano crop version and I think it's 50/50 between the two, Dumay you may want to crop more, all personal. :w3

cheers
Steve

[AdityaPadhye]

Heres a RP, have tried to implement all the suggestions :P
Cloned out the cement and the yellow blade of grass
Used Neatimage on the bg, some color adjustments.
Slightly more pano crop than earlier, didn't want to crop more than this because I like the greenery in the bg, some nice variation in the color palette?
The tiger's fur in Steves RP looks better than mine, more natural I think. Mine still has that sooty dull feel to it, I tried playing around with Hue/Saturation and Vibrance but to no avail.

[Steve Canuel]

A nice sighting of some very cooperative tigers. I like the alternating matched head positions too.

[Morkel Erasmus]

A bit late to this one, sorry about that Aditya (I was away) :e3.

Lovely sighting!!! :Whoa!:

Your last repost certainly looks better on a lot of counts, particularly losing that sooty/gritty look for the most part.
If you are interested in my workflow that I used when I was still a 7D user, please contact Rachel Hollander as I know she's given it to others already after I emailed it to her. If you have any questions regarding that, please do drop me a line! :t3

[AdityaPadhye]

Hello Morkel, I am definitely am interested in knowing about your workflow, will pm Rachel asap. Thanks!