Image taken some time ago and it has survived a few rounds of processing...This was taken in the Kalahari Gemsbok Park. I love taking action photos, but these fellows got so close that I remember ducking flat on the back seat of the Landrover at some point! No space at the top or bottom, would have had to clone but decided to leave it as is, to make the viewer feel the same way I felt while taking this image...I wanted the Gemsbok to "burst" out of the picture. I won't be offended if you think otherwise, kindly let me know and I shall add canvas if you think it would improve this image
Warmest regards from wintery Africa,
Missing Exif: Nikon D3S, 500f/4, f/6.3, 1/4000, ISO 1000
Last edited by Steve Kaluski; 07-19-2013 at 01:41 AM.
Reason: Missing Exif data
Thank you for viewing and comments, Paul-those chaps were busy drinking at a waterhole when a newcomer with bigger, longer horns arrived...he gave them a chase...luckily those three musketeers managed to split up before they got to our car...Gemsbok are great to watch and photograph- they are extremely shy and skittish near water, as if they anticipate trouble (they probably know what they are doing...). Watched them for hours to understand their behavior. Even more interesting when there are lions around-they won't run away, just face the enemy and snort and show off, displaying the most interesting facial expressions. Will post more if anyone finds this interesting...
Great capture of the action! I really like the composition of the 2 leaning outwards and the middle one charging nearly straight on, and the dramatic long dark horns extending up to the edges of the frame at the same angles as the bodies. Dust, flying hooves, and kicked-up clods of dirt add to the action. Have you tried some selective sharpening on the head of the left animal?
My apologies for forgetting to add the EXIF data, will do so after work, this afternoon...will also respond to your comments, thank you all for viewing, much appreciated!
Hi Gabriela, another great image, love the power and action in this one. When I first viewed it, my initial feeling was, it's a little tight, however having looked at it, plus explored the image to, I quite like the tightness and for me I get the feeling that they are exploding out of the frame, if that makes sense? If you have it, then a sliver more below. Regarding the techs, you had the SS so 'personally' perhaps a little more DOF, but easy to say when you are not there.
Looking at the Exif this was shot around 5.00pm so the light wasn't that harsh, but you started to get some nice warm light, but I feel the yellow is saturating a lot of the image and perhaps masking some of the other colours within the shot. Happy to look at the RAW as the OP is quite difficult to build & separate from to gain pointers/direction. There is again, more detail you can extract from within the bodies, plus just watch the blacks. With some masking you can also get some more tone & definition from the plumes of dust which I feel is a key ingredient to the whole image, likewise having the three subject at different kilters also adds to the picture story. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that you need to look at getting back to the more natural colours IMHO, and build from there, however I could be totally wrong in my interpretations and that this is a true reflection of the scene in terms of colour, it's just my take. BTW just watch your masking as there is some halos starting to appear on the RH Gemsbok.
Gabriela, this is in NO WAY the definitive look, that would be rather silly, however I hope in some small way it shows some of the points I have made above in moving this image along as it has so much potential, ie the definition in the dust and more detail in the hides, plus the reduction of yellow. It's probably too cool as a RP in terms of Temp, and in all honesty this has been through the mill many times, with truck loads of masks and adjustments, in fact too many to remember.
Well done and thanks for posting this.
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Thank you Steve for your guidance and careful analysis, I have sent you the RAW so you can get a better idea of how my processing influenced this image. I shall take my time at the week-end and attempt an RP-- I gather it might be worth it, and by the way I discovered that I do have a lot of space at the bottom of the picture, so a new crop and of course I will try to get as much detail as possible. You said "getting back to the natural colours"-I like that, will keep that in mind when I do the RP!
Thank you all for your kind comments and for viewing-your comments and critique is much appreciated
Morning Steve, I shall hold the fire till you had a chance to look at the RAW
I use LR and then CS6 ( and Andre too, especially when I get lost between the layers) . On a more serious note-is it worthwhile upgrading to LR4 ? We both have LR3.
Definitely, NO Question, plus if you revisit old files it will ask you to upgrade them, do it when prompted. Also check you have the latest Upgrade for CS6.
Files returned back to you, I think the colour is between both our postings.
cheers
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
This is a terrific action shot. I do feel it is just a bit tight with the horn almost touching the frame. As for colors, I actually like the OP better. I feel it is more warm, lively, and show the contrast in the dust cloud better. But I will hold the fire until I see Steve's RP. Loi
Thank you Loi and Anette I have been working on an RP of this image today, still busy with it, hoping the final version will be seen as a great improvement
I am not sure I like it-what do you think of the RP? Left more space at the top and bottom and tried to sharpen the subjects more, especially the one on the left. Worked on this for so long that I cannot judge the colours anymore. BG maybe too green? Should have blurred it but left it as it was. Critique and advice much appreciated.
Sorry to disappoint you Steve...I am willing to try again
Hi Gabriela, I think this is where you need to take a break from the image, rest and revisit next week a fresh. If you have learnt something from this then you haven't disappointed me.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Gabriela ,
great stuff , like the tightness even if it is a bit too much on top i think.
Really worth to invest some time to develop it properly , from your POV and with your possible knowledge in PP.
I know , Steve can be a p.... in the a.., from time to time , if you think he should help you more, but i learned with his way of helping a lot !!!!! Thanks Steve........You just have to try,try,try and try. Good luck.
Hello Andreas! I have a huge grin on my face right now when I am reading your comments! I think Steve has helped me so much, in fact much more than I deserve - I see him as a mentor and I have the world of respect for him. In this case, I was so kin to live up to expectations (his, as well as mine) that I forgot to stop at a point when this image looked quite good and made more changes. This is when things fell apart...I shall revisit my Gemsboks after a while, need a fresh approach and will try to forget about them for a while...
Thank you for your encouraging comments and I really appreciate your sense of humor, it lightens up things for me, a lot! Maybe I take my photography too seriously these days, it is no more a hobby, it has become an obsession...
Fabulous action here Gabriela. One of the best action images of Gemsbok I've seen.
I love how they "explode from the screen", thus the tightness works.
It's evident from your last repost that you added some blurring around them - why?
I agree with Steve...revisit in a few weeks.
Hello Morkel, and thank you Morkel for your kind words. There was another " character" where you saw the blurring (or it might be poor cloning). I did so much to this image that night, I guess I stopped seeing it really...I wanted it to be perfect. Steve has helped me so much lately and I was trying to show him that he is not wasting precious time on me...I was tired, my eyes were sore from all the "squinting" into the computer screen, but I wanted to deliver the goods that evening...after I posted I looked at the result-I felt like hiding my head in the sand, like the Ostrich. I am still embarassed
Gemsbok Running
...This was taken in the Kalahari Gemsbok Park. I love taking action photos, but these fellows got so close that I remember ducking flat on the back seat of the Landrover at some point! No space at the top or bottom, would have had to clone but decided to leave it as is, to make the viewer feel the same way I felt while taking this image...I wanted the Gemsbok to "burst" out of the picture. I won't be offended if you think otherwise, kindly let me know and I shall add canvas if you think it would improve this image
Reply With Quote
) . On a more serious note-is it worthwhile upgrading to LR4 ? We both have LR3. 
? Left more space at the top and bottom and tried to sharpen the subjects more, especially the one on the left. Worked on this for so long that I cannot judge the colours anymore. BG maybe too green? Should have blurred it but left it as it was. Critique and advice much appreciated. 
...I am willing to try again
, it lightens up things for me, a lot! Maybe I take my photography too seriously these days
