Hi all a new try to enter this month theme .
Image of this WB taken at Polentswa WH in KTP . The same location as my fighting WB just a few moments later . We got hit by strong winds and all the fine bull dust became blown all over the place , luckily the wind came from my back , so i did not get that much of the dust on my gear or into my ears and nose :bg3:.
Canon EOS 1D x
EF 200 - 400 at 340 mm
window bracket + gitzo fluid head
F 8 ;Iso 400 ; 1/ 1600 sec ; man exposure - 1 bias
Processed with DPP 4 and Fuji RVP 100 F preset , finalized and cropped for comp in PS CC
Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous posting :wave:.
Cheers Andreas
01-13-2015, 02:29 PM
Sanjeev Aurangabadkar
Andreas, this guy does look lost ! :bg3: Nicely captured. I like the way the WB looks like he is struggling with the dust & looking for direction to get away from it. Nice composition too.
01-13-2015, 04:57 PM
Tiago Caravana
Love the dust and the ambience it creates in a pic with a very good composition.
I wonder how would it work in B&W?! I believe it would also be very nice...
01-13-2015, 06:04 PM
Rachel Hollander
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Hi Andreas - I really like the concept of this image. Nice visualization in the field and placement in the frame. If it were mine I would go even lighter, more so in the midtones and also drop the yellows overall. Here's a rp along the lines of what I was thinking. WDYT? Btw there seems to be a halo along the wb's back.
TFS,
Rachel
01-13-2015, 07:31 PM
Edward Arthur
Andreas, great moment and I really like this idea. Wonderful concept as Rachel said. Just me, but I would completely remove the tree line and bring up some details in the animal and bottom FG if possible to set off the isolation.
01-14-2015, 01:50 AM
Andreas Liedmann
Thanks Sanjeev, Tiago, Rachel and Ed for your comments , as always much appreciated.
Rachel - yes i like your RP in terms of tonality , and would agree also to your color adjustments ,but i wanted to achieve a certain film look and the colors are coming with that look . :bg3:. And if you go that color route you should also have removed the blue/cyan that is creeping in , in the WB :w3.
No halo , i mean a visible one , if you are really zooming in and push the mid tone slider to the right on a levels layer you can see a tiny , tiny halo . But easy to fix for me .
Ed - thanks for your thoughts , but your suggestions going a route i do not want to follow . Crop a matter of taste , but i like this wide !!!
Detail ,no need for more detail as this is a HK image , well at least it is edited to be one . And i do not want the WB to stand out more .
Thanks again Andreas
01-14-2015, 04:39 AM
Dumay de Boulle
I can see what Edward is talking about with taking out the sky line just giving the image the light sand tone and the dark WB contrasting within the dust. But your original is interesting too....Nice idea!!
01-14-2015, 11:07 AM
Steve Kaluski
Hi Andreas, a hard shot to pull off, but you did it, great.
Based on the laptop I prefer the OP, but will reserve final judgement, LOL till when I get back :bg3:. Keep the tree/skyline in, it gives perspective and placement to the subject, otherwise I think it just looks as if it's floating in 'nothing'???? The FG anchors things, the sky gives depth. I like the subtle tones & shadows in the Wildebeest, you just need to 'suggest' the form, contours, structure, no need I feel for fine detail, let the eye to the imagining.
Would like to see Andre & Gabriela's images too of the same sightings you have posted, come on guys. :S3:
TFS
Steve
01-14-2015, 01:10 PM
Gabriela Plesea
Dear Andreas,
So glad you did not close your windows! Although them whirlwinds can cause havoc in one's car...
I like this, very much, the warmth I perceive here fits the moment perfectly and that yellow dust adds so much to the scene - I really miss the Kalahari now, I must say in February it is much hotter there and those winds quite fierce... so are the storms:)
I do have similar images, Steve - I will share them of course. Or rather, in due course...Something Andreas has not witnessed yet is what I call "the secretary birds frenzy" - hope to see this again and to be able to capture it in order to share it with you, even though it will have to be in another forum: during midday heat it so happens at certain waterholes (where the water is sweeter) that a great number of secretary birds land at about the same time; they wonder about and drink and wait for something to happen: that something is a dust storm, or whirlwind, and they all rush towards the centre of it and get lifted up in the sky - an amazing spectacle I have only seen on two occasions and will have to look for those images taken some time ago...I have not finished going through my last KTP folders yet...
Back to Andreas's image, and taking into consideration your comments, I think I prefer the OP simply because it is closer to what I saw. The only change I would make - a minor change - would be to take off the top just a tad, enough to include the entire tree on the RHS. I really like the way the lower part of the Wildebeest's legs disappear into the dust, that swing of the tail, the tinge of blue in the sky -little details that make a big impression on me as I am viewing:)
I am extremely happy that you (Andreas) managed to capture the essence of the Kalahari in so many of your images, and your careful processing retains those elements that make this semi-desert such a special place to know and experience - such a pleasure to view a friend's perspective of this magic place I am about to revisit very very soon...
Andre still to see this, he is busy in the workshop right now redesigning and building his camrack. I am sure he will be delighted with your image!
Have a great evening,
01-14-2015, 02:29 PM
Anette Mossbacher
Where am I? Do you need a compass Andreas.
Dust great, colors great, trees in the back get rid of them :w3 Just me, I would love this as simple as it can be. I like the OP better, again just me :c3:
Hope you found by now where you are :w3
Have a nice eve, ciao me
01-14-2015, 03:28 PM
Morkel Erasmus
The dust and faint BG makes this Andreas.
I like Rachel's RP and still feel there's a green tinge to the WB in both??
01-15-2015, 04:54 AM
Andreas Liedmann
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Thanks to all who replied and gave suggestions an feedback , always good to hear different opinions .
I stick with my initial OP after checking all suggestions , anyhow thanks fro your input .
Wel Morkel is right regarding very slight green cast , came with the preset in first place and i did not notice until he picked it up , thanks Morkel .
Here is the RP without the green stuff .
Cheers Andreas
01-17-2015, 10:08 AM
Charleen Ratcliff
Having read all the comments, may I say this is a very good image, good perspective as well as leaving the viewer to wonder if there are any other critters in the dust cloud as lost as he seems to be!