Sparring Wildebeests @Masai Mara

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Camera	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Exposure	(1/2000)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	700 mm
ISO Speed	1600
Exposure Bias	+2/3 EV

[edwardselfe]

Hi Sanjeev. This is a great image. I love the eye of the RH wildebeest which has that crazed look that they get when their adrenalin's high! The eye contact is crucial in making this a good image.

I think you could sharpen the image a bit more, and I would probably lose some of the out of focus foreground and background, perhaps going for a more 16x9 idea.....? I also think that you might lower the midtones a bit to get more contrast in the wildebeest but there are others who can perhaps comment on that. I might also try to bring out the right eye of the left hand wildebeest so that it's more prominent - just a bit of lightening and sharpening would be all it takes.

Ed

[hennieloots]

Hi Sanjeev - Great moment captured. I agree on the impact of the crazed eye.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - great action and good ss to capture it. I agree the eye is great. The blacks are a bit choked up and something looks slightly off about the bodies of the wildes. Did you use a lot of shadow recovery by any chance? Overall though a nice image. Keep them coming.

TFS,
Rachel

[Loi Nguyen]

Sanjeev, great action and good capture. Love the eye contact. I never could get such eye with wildebeest! I think this is a difficult image to capture with the black face and the bright BG. For me the BG is a bit too bright and dominant. I would crop some of the top and tone it down a little. Rachel already mentioned about the black. More sharpening and tonal contrast on the bodies would take this image up a notch I think.

Loi

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thanks everyone. Rachel, I did use the shadow/highlight recovery tool in PS. Maybe 10% shadow recovery on the body. will re look at it.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - The shadow/highlights adjustment is often classified as a destructive adjustment. It's powerful and a little goes a long way. If I use shadows and highlights, I don't think I have ever used that high an adjustment. Just an fyi.

Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev,
firstly great behavior you captured here, like the kneeling subjects positioned in the frame with a good visible eye which is adding interest.

But i am not sure about the technical stuff , PP or either shooting.
I feel that at 2000/sec everything should be pin sharp , like the mane of the right wildebeest , the mane is blurred ? Just asking.
The whole bodies look soft without detail and clarity at least for my eyes, i do not think that sharpening more would help at this stage , cause there is already a sharpening halo visible in some areas.

Maybe you have used NR on the bodies, not sure , you can give the answer.Last i would tone down the whole light area around the subject via lumo mask.

Sanjeev do not get me wrong, but i think with your gear you should get better images under this lightning conditions, unless you made a technical fault , like blurred by movement of the camera or used the wrong tools in PS.

Sorry to be that critical , hope it is only a mistake in PP .

TFS Andreas

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thanks Andeas. Please feel free to point out the mistakes. I am hear to learn, i did nit run NR on the body, only on BG. As Rachel pointed out, I did run S/H recovery tool and I seem to have overdone it. Will work on my PP again.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev,
do not want to say there are mistakes, just my points of observation, just personal .......
I wondered why nobody else sad something about IQ, because in other images from you , it is there.
So please have a look at the image again or sent it via DB to me if you wish , i will have a look , maybe i am totally wrong and need my glasses adjusted ;LOL.

Regards Andreas

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Andreas, I will put the RAW in my DB folder and share the link with you soon.
Regards
Sanjeev

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice moment here Sanjeev. Most key points have been touched. I think Andreas' blurry mane is due to DOF - f5.6 is very shallow for dealing with 2 creatures of this size in this kind of action.
I too feel you could run some more selective sharpening on the subjects and that you overdid the shadow recovery. Would love to see a repost once you've tried to work this up from scratch?