A Clash of Horns ( Kalahari Gemsboks)

[Gabriela Plesea]

Waiting for hours on end at a waterhole in the Kalahari can be quite exhausting...it is midday, incredibly hot, dry, and uncomfortable. This is the time when Secretary Birds arrive in great numbers and land awkwardly near the water. Bateleurs seem to always get it right, they usually land into the waterhole. Black-backed Jackals come to quench their thirst and by the time they depart they are so full they can barely walk. Skittish Springboks approach the water carefully only to walk away minutes later still thirsty. The waterhole is a stage where dramas unfold every day and we are just spectators waiting for things to happen. This is one such occasion when myself and my partner were surprised by the sudden encounter between these two gemsboks-there was no warning and no visible body language to prepare us for the fight so all we got is a couple of images. I had to add canvas on the right side and clone out a few twigs here and there. The light was harsh so there was little or no detail on the eyes. If there is anything you think I could do to improve this image, I would appreciate your advice.

EXIF INFO:

Nikon D3S
Nikon 600mm F4
1/2500s
F6.3

Kind regards and many thanks,

[Douglas Bolt]

I had to add canvas on the right side and clone out a few twigs here and there. The light was harsh so there was little or no detail on the eyes. If there is anything you think I could do to improve this image, I would appreciate your advice.

Looks good to me as is. A soft light wouldn't be right for the location. Glad you added canvas on the right. If you have more room, I'd try using more of the image. Also, have you considered a slight vignette? Seems appropriate here. I wish you could have been a little lower, but I'm sure that was not possible. Lots of action. I like it.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Douglas and thank you for your comment-I really appreciate it. I will try the vignette, I have done it quite successfully with a similar image. This was taken at a place called Gharagab in the Kalahari, the camp is quite far from the waterhole and up on a dune, therefore the angle...

Kind regards,

[Douglas Bolt]

Hi Gabriela,

I looked up Gharagab. It is quite a remote place. I understand why you said, when you are there, you feel like you are in Africa. A bit out of the way for visitors like us, but I can certainly understand the draw. I also looked at lots of Andre and your pics. Very nice work.

[Diane Miller]

This is wonderful!! Great action captured with good techs. The dust kicked up makes it very special!!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, nice action and you controlled the exposure well, retaining information in the whites too. Dust being churned up helps to convey the battle between the two. I would look to adding some mid tone overall just to help define a bit more form within the bodies, but use a mask so you avoid adding more into the blacks or darker shadow areas like the horns. Based on the posting there is still some detail you can extract to help the eyes, but be warned, just ensure they don't look to false.

Things seem to be coming together nicely, both in terms of capture & PP.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - great action, well captured. Nice dof, color and sharpness. PP looks good too. Well done!

TFS,
Rachel

[Marina Scarr]

Terrific action you captured here and super angles on both. Love the kicked up dirt and locked antlers.

[Morkel Erasmus]

You're making me miss the red sands of the Kalahari! Lovely action and dust, always tricky framing these fights as there are often other static gemsbok loitering around getting into the shot. I agree with Steve, I would also sharpen the bodies of the antelopes just a wee bit more?

[Gabriela Plesea]

Aaaargh Morkel, you are so right about the gemsboks around the water holes! Always in numbers, so many potentially good shots but needing cloning - big time! Steve was so kind to email me a reprocessed version of those gemsies above - looks way better than mine! Will repost with the changes, soon.

I was looking through my March RAW images from the Kalahari and there's one I really like, with one gemsbok male actually penetrating the skin of another male with its horns-there are just too many other characters in the picture, it will take me some time to "sort them out". I will post as soon as I can, even it is just for interest' sake...We are going again in September-are we going to see you there?

Warmest regards,