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Thread: Hyena in the shadows..

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    Default Hyena in the shadows..

    I´m continuing trying to improve my B/W conversion skills. Looked through my old files from Lake Nakuru, Kenya 2011. Found this that I think is worth working with. Used no vignette this time. WDYT?

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    Nikon D3
    Nikon 600 mm
    f4.0 | 1/320 SS | ISO-1600 | -1/3 EV

    Slightly cropped, slight toning, used graduated filter, selectively processed the objects and the usual pp - all in LR5

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    I find this image extremely haunting -- very well done, for my tastes!! It seems to be cut off on the right, however -- a mistake in exporting for the post?

    I usually find a dark top area overpowers and unbalances a lighter bottom area, but the top area is very attractive to me. I might experiment with a slight darkening near the bottom, maybe just a vignette in the OOF FG region.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Gregor - something strange is going on with your image because it is cut off on the right side for me as well but when I import it into PS, the whole image is there. Not sure what is going on. From the title is there actually a hyena? Is that the dark oof area in the fg grasses? If it is not, or maybe even if it is since it is unrecognizable I might consider a small crop from the bottom. The toning looks good but I wish you had stopped down in the field to get a bit more dof so that all of the antelope were sharp. Keep experimenting.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Great image here, i really like the conversion and the toning, the sepparation between the grass and the Dark BG is great, a little more detail around the subjects would have been great as Rachel mentioned. For me there is also a little too much FG and the 3 dark blotches in the FG are also a little distracting.

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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I hadn't tried pulling the image into PS but when I did I see, as Rachel does, the whole image, which I think is wonderful. I've lightened the BG just a little, although I like its spooky appearance, to better balance it with the FG, and darkened the FG a little and added a darker gradient at the bottom. That gives some weight for the image to rest on and works with the lurking in the shadows idea.

    I'm doing a RP here to illustrate my thoughts and to see if the whole image will show -- the original size is correct for posting here -- it is 1200 pixels wide.

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    OK -- now I see what is happening. In my RP the picture is offset a little to the right but I can see that it extends past the edge of the "page" and you can scroll to see it. On the OP, scrolling doesn't work but doing a Ctrl-minus to make the screen content smaller does show it.

    Some sort of a glitch going on, with page formatting or something, it looks like.

    And on the Home page the picture illustrating the museum opening is partially overlaying the Recent Posts column. Maybe the same issue?
    Last edited by Diane Miller; 10-01-2013 at 11:19 AM.

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    All looks good from my desktop.
    Marina Scarr
    Florida Master Naturalist
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    Odd -- I'm on Safari now and all is fine, both here and on the Home page -- it's a Firefox issue. (I'm on a Mac if that makes any difference.)

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Gregor, no issues for me, loads fine and FF, even on the laptop too.

    Good to see you experimenting and keeping your foot to the floor on trying to progress things. Sadly for me it's not working, if the shadows of the hyena are in the FG it needs to be more obvious what it is, as presented they just look like soft, OOF objects and without the title you really wouldn't know. The Thomsom's gazelles (?) need more tone & detail, but I do like the contrast between the grass & darker woodland. I assume the DOF gives that 'hazy' look & feel to the BKG unless you have tweaked that, would like a bit more 'clarity', it's just a little to diffused for my taste.

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    I like the eerie mood here, Gregor, but the overall composition in conjunction with the title is not working for me...mostly agree with Steve above.
    I like the toning you used and you achieved good tonal range. If the hyena's head was lifted perhaps the image would have a different effect?
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Thanks a lot for C&C.

    I can see your your points. Both that dof is too short, and objects therefore lacking a bit of detail. I was thinking that the title was adding to the mood and the vigilant look of the gazelles. But agree that the hyena just showing a shadow of its back in the FG grass, is to subtle to work. Glad I got the eerie mood through, though :)

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    And Diane

    Thanks for your RP. Looks very good to me. I think your RP balance between FG and BG much better, and brings out more detail in the objects. Like it.

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    Hi Gregor,

    you got good suggestions above already.
    Just my thoughts on this. I do like very much the dark BG, the forest, that brings the animals more into the FG of the image itself. I see what you have done with the graduate filter, very nice. I do hope that you see the difference between the vignette and graduate filter! That makes a huge difference since a graduate you can set where ever in the pic without being dominant in the overall image. Very well done for me.
    The dark spots I would get rid of.
    Looking very much forward to your next image in B&W, keep trying

    Have a great day

    Ciao
    Anette

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