Clay Mammoth

[Shreyas Mantri]

This has got to be the tallest elephant with the longest trunk that I've seen

Etosha elephants are known to be the tallest I believe - and he was the largest present there and was not shy in throwing his weight around. Some scared animals can be seen fleeing in the bg.
I chose to do this in monochrome as it gives more clay-like look on the elephant, more-so because he had just taken a soupy salt bath and was 90% white already.

Shot under the blistering noon sunlight. A tad burning of highlights on the brightest spots on the LHS, but have tried to keep the look that I actually saw in the field.

All inputs are greatly appreciated!

Canon 7D, 70-200mm II, @ 120mm, Manual, f/3.5, @ 1/2000s, ISO 160

[edwardselfe]

Nice idea with this, and I love the composition etc, but I think the processing has gone a little far. You took a fabulous shot and I think you might just have over-done it with lifting the shadow details.....? I think it needs to have some blacks in there and perhaps some whites too - the tonal range is all bunched a little too much in the middle for my liking.
I'd spend time on it though, as I think the composition and the pose of the elephant is first class.
Ed

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Shreyas, I agree with the above, although viewing on the laptop, to me it is missing some mid tone & shadows, it all seems very 'hot' no pun intended. I would expect shadows, perhaps even hefty ones based on the info, but tonally it all looks even to me, be interesting to see the RAW. The dust & zebra add to the interest to the shot. Be nice to get the mistro Mr Delaney to comment on this, may drop him a line as he knows this area oh so well, likewise the Tuskers.

TFS
Steve

[Carole Deschuymere]

Hi Shreyas, I agree with the comments above. you need more shadows, and the skyline has a strange line. The picture however is fantastic! Try again with more contrast, you should get great results. Carole

[Morkel Erasmus]

Shreyas - you're making me wish the year over until I can stare at these clay mammoths myself when I return to Etosha towards the end of November...
I like the idea here, but feel you could have executed it better. Besides the horizon line (which looks like the clarity/recovery sliders were overcooked in RAW), I agree with the lack of tonal range too.
This repost shows the direction I would have taken, albeit always better to work from RAW...
WDYT?

[Markus Jais]

Great shot. Morkel's report is even better.
Wonderful composition. I like the placement of the elephant in the frame. The zebras in the BG are a nice bonus and fit well into this scene. Monochrome is great with this shot.

Markus

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Shreyas - he does look big. I agree with the others about pp issues. I hope you'll take another stab at it and rp.

TFS,
Rachel

[Shreyas Mantri]

Hello folks,
Thanks for all your input. Here's a RP based on the recommendations. Have started from scratch with RAW - looks like it's not a good idea to do PP right before going to bed afterall
Would appreciate further thoughts on this one!

Thx

[Russell Johnson]

Shreya, could you post a color version with minimal PP applied, just interested to see the original scene before conversion.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Shreyas, wonderful image of the elephant you got.

I pulled it over and ended up nearly the same like Morkels image, but have seen much more can be done when in RAW. My sky was a bit more darker than Morkels.
You can send me a PM for a bit more help, if you like.

Have a great day

Ciao
Anette