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Thread: Mara Suspense

  1. #1
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Default Mara Suspense

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    A typical scene on the banks of the Mara river...zebras and wildebeest building up in numbers until one takes the plunge and goes across...or doesn't and they all turn back.
    I went for a slow shutter here and like how it came out. Certainly "jarring" and not "soothing", and I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea...

    But please, be honest, and tell me what you like and what you don't like...I'm interested in how people receive this one.
    I know many will want the wildebeest calf to be sharper. IMHO that would move this more towards the kind of images that's been done so many times in the Migration.

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    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel

    Maybe I am too clinical, but this image makes me take my glasses off, put 'em on, take 'em off, put them on...

    Confused
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andre Pretorius View Post
    Hi Morkel

    Maybe I am too clinical, but this image makes me take my glasses off, put 'em on, take 'em off, put them on...

    Confused
    Well, then at least I made you look more than once
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    You WIN!!!
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hey Morkel, I've not even had a glass today and I'm already feeling giddy, sadly I am one of those 'cups of tea' with this one.

    Perhaps if it was more a 'sea' of them, with minimal space between subjects, so it's a real tight heard, providing more of an 'optical' look??? I tried loosing some of the darker area at the top so you had more of the crisp whites and rich blacks, no go.

    Sorry.

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

  6. #6
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski View Post
    Hey Morkel, I've not even had a glass today and I'm already feeling giddy, sadly I am one of those 'cups of tea' with this one.

    Perhaps if it was more a 'sea' of them, with minimal space between subjects, so it's a real tight heard, providing more of an 'optical' look??? I tried loosing some of the darker area at the top so you had more of the crisp whites and rich blacks, no go.

    LOL Steve...

    I also tried a different crop even before posting.
    This was the crop I came up with that worked best for me...but then you lose more of the "zebra heads" on the LHS
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Hi Morkel

    Nice try here. And a very arty one. I think as it is now, it works as a interesting background, when you want an effect that is lively and energetic. The problem for me is that this is lacking a subject, a situation, or something that asks a question. Which you generally need for a photo. I can see other uses for a photo like this though. But then we are talking interior design or things like that. And then I would probably want to lose the wildebeest calf.

    So I´m too is one of those tea cups. :)

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    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
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    Works for me - perhaps the OP more than the RP for me. If anything, I would like the wildebeest to be more blurry to match the others, but as a focal point of the (otherwise blurry) image, it works well. A good idea.
    Ed

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Morkel - a wildlife blur, interesting idea, but I think for me the problem is that the blur is too uneven. I've become a fan of Denise and Artie's blurs and have even tried a few but in most of them the movement is smoother and usually results from purposeful camera movement or the wind. Here the animals have created the blur through their movement and its haphazard. It may be what you were going for but for me its a bit more jarring to the eye and feels a bit more like ghosting than blur. I like the thinking and experimenting but the result just isn't pleasing to my eyes. Sorry.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel,

    interesting image, that looks like some images of mine when I sneeze while shooting Just kidding.
    I don't know, the most blurry/moving images I have seen are always somehow smooth in one direction. When I saw it I thought: "oh heavy traffic and no one cares about a traffic light"

    For me the OP does it, the conversion is good, but, I always have a but in my pocket, I would have done it different with the "light painting" But ( there you go, again a but ) that is just me. ( LOts of wires are connected with each other in my head!! )
    You need to be happy with it, not we
    Wonder what it would have looked like with 1sec!

    Have a great day

    Ciao
    Anette

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    In two minds about this image

    The only thing I know for sure is that I prefer the OP

    Reminds me of when Frodo used to wear his ring in the movie :D

  12. #12
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    My first thought when viewing this image was "...this is the whole purpose of the zebra stripes being there..." I guess this image shows precisely the effect those patterns of the zebra skin have on predators: a blur, confusion...Morkel, after just one glass of red wine the message contained in this image has become clear to me
    If I were a lioness I would skip a meal ...all this movement, the lack of a certain direction-I think I have just figured out how the zebra defend themselves from predators, thanks to you. I find this image interesting and mind boggling...

    Love your experiments, Morkel! Looking forward to more!

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. Gabriela, that's one of the reasons this keeps my attention and why it works for me personally! A proper "dazzle of zebras"...
    Morkel Erasmus

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  14. #14
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Morkel, keep at it! Your work is refreshing and also great fun (one does not always know what to expect, and I love the element of surprise "...mmm, what has Morkel done now?...". Your images make one stop and reflect on things, which is something we all expect from art, in whatever form it is presented to us.

    xxGabriela
    Gabriela Plesea

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