Mountain Gorilla

[Nancy Bell]

I photographed this wild Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda while on a gorilla trek. Just like the title "gorillas in the mist", the day was indeed rainy and misty. This image is from our first sighting of the gorillas that morning as they ate leaves under a canopy of trees where it was very dark, and wet. Huddling under a poncho, I sat near the gorillas in awe, and wondering just how do I take a picture in the dark, through the branches and vines. I converted the image using Nik B&W, the Topaz Simplify 4,single tone I.

[Cindy Cone]

What an experience that must have been! Wonderful expression and pose! I like your use of Simplify and the resulting tones. I do find some of the lighter spots in the background a bit distracting and might try to burn or clone those a bit, but I think that's just a matter of personal preference. Great capture for a dark, misty day in the forest!

[Nancy Bell]

Cindy, thank you. I worked this image many different ways, with and without those bkgd spots. Just couldn't decide if they added balance or distraction .

[Cindy Cone]

Good point. I struggle with that all the time and find I often do more than I should!

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Nancy,

Greetings. I like the simplicity of the eyes and the expression. The leaves are a bit bright... not sure about including the one on the left. I'd keep the bg blurs.

So, what equipment did you lug up to see the gorillas? I have family that lead groups up to the gorillas in Rwanda... one of these days I'd like to go and have wondered about what equipment to take (my sister-in-law & husband are anthropologists not photographers).

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Nancy Bell]

Michael, That's a good idea about cropping out that leaf on the left and have the image be a simple as possible. Holy moly...you must go visit your sister-in-law and husband in Rwanda! The gorilla experience is totally amazing!! I just carried my 70-200 f2.8 lens. No tripod, no flash. The forest is just too dense to set up a tripod. Plus the animals move around and you are asked to be very still. Eventually I had gorillas within a few feet and one brushed right by me.

[Kerry Perkins]

Nancy, what a cool thing to do, wow! You were probably holding your breath a lot. I like the intimate look of both the composition and the sparse lighting. I am conflicted about both the bg features and the leaf on the left. I think I lean toward keeping the small brighter features in the bg as they provide context. I feel the same way about the leaf on the left but I think it would be a good idea to crop it out also for a different look. How about a repost?

[Nancy Bell]

Here is a repost without the left leaf and the whitish spots in the bkgd. WDYT? I think this is better.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Nancy,

It's a bit difficult to unring the bell on the first one, this one feels a little tight to me, but I'm unsure if that is after seeing the first one. This one certainly focuses on the eyes/face, where the OP is a larger scene...

This is what I had in mind for dealing with the bright leaf - solid color fill layer (sampled background blobs for color) masked for leaf, about 70% opacity, luminosity blend. That's it.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I like your repost the best Nancy. Really nice toning, and shadows and light are perfect for the theme. Love those eyes!

[Nancy Bell]

Yes, I like the original proportions that you maintained. The leaf looks good this way, but I think I'll still remove the bkgd blobs. Thanks for the explanation & illustration!

[Christopher Miller]

Love the gorilla's expression, Nancy, especially its eyes. I can't imagine how amazing it must have been to be that close to wild gorillas. Personally I prefer the original image, though I think I would completely clone out that leaf.

[Nancy Bell]

Thanks all. It was very interesting to hear everyone's slightly different take on the leaf & the whitish blobs! However, the eyes stole the show, and that was my main intent!

[Judy Howle]

Beautiful capture, and I like the filter work and your re-post best but the first one is a close second. The eyes are wonderful!