Rhino at rest

[Martin Dunn]

This is something of an experiment. The light is a bit harsh but personally I don't mind that.
It has been quite a steady seller for me but I guess it is not to everyone's taste. I just love the textures on the rhino's hide.

Nikon D300s
Sigma 120-400mm lens @200mm
1/500s
f5.3
ISO250

Very little PP. I corrected exposure by -0.3 and added a tiny bit (5%) of saturation

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Martin, firstly I took the liberty of editing your intro as it named the location of where the shot was taken. With Rhino, or any endangered species, Morkel and I feel that it's location is something we would prefer not to advertise, I hope you understand. However, if you would prefer to retain it then happy to amend the edit.

Regarding the image I think it would have been better to have pulled back as you had the zoom and to have included both legs, having them cut off isn't really working for me, I would like to have seen more. Also moving forward the angle may have been better, always bag the shot, then if time allows move to different positions, you may find it's the 'money' shot. Again, upping the ISO to give more DOF & SS would have helped, having more DOF would have also improved the textures & contours of the hide. I would look to selectively adjusting both the Red & Magenta, adding some more Clarity say +8 and expanding the midtone to get more tonal range within the subject. This will give greater form, depth & detail, plus and this is only personal, a hint more selective sharpening in parts.

TFS
Steve

[Martin Dunn]

Steve,
thanks for the suggestions, no problem with your edit.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Martin - the textures are good but I think you could bring them out even more with some adjustments in pp. The image itself is a little bright and flat. If you up the tonal range a bit then the textures will come out even more.

While it might be a good seller, aesthetically for me there are some issues - the two biggest being that the head is slightly angled away from the viewer and the other being the cut off foot at the bottom. The texture and view of the bottom of the foot looks very interesting but I want to see the whole thing. With the zoom lens, my guess is had you zoomed out then you could have included it. On the head angle (HA), it would be worthwhile for you to read through the very long thread started by Artie on head angle fine points in the Tutorials and Educational Resources forum.

TFS,
Rachel

[edwardselfe]

Nice details etc but having him looking away from me with the eye closed is not really working for me.... Would have preferred a side-on or frontal shot, although completely understand that the light direction prevented that.
Ed

[Martin Dunn]

Thanks Rachel, I found the thread. Useful stuff. Bit of a whiz that Arthur.

[hennieloots]

Hi Martin - I like the textures and idea, but the pose does not work for me. Rachel covered the techs.
Regards
Hennie