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Thread: Buffalo at Tshukudu Dam, Madikwe

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    Default Buffalo at Tshukudu Dam, Madikwe

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    We saw this herd of buffalo moving through the trees and guessed that they were on their way to the dam. We drove up onto the dam wall to wait for them.
    It was great to be able to photograph them as they emerged from the trees into the morning light.

    Nikon D300s
    Nikkor 300mm telephoto + 1.4TC
    1/250s
    f8
    ISO800

    Hand held from safari vehicle, braced against roof strut

    I cropped about 10% from right hand side to remove a stray buffalo that was not very attractive.
    A further 10% cropped from top to remove sky as it distracted from the lovely golden glow of the trees
    about 5% cropped from the bottom to remove empty space.

    sharpened a bit

    Thanks for looking

    I have a question about posting .. When I 'save for web' I need to reduce the image quality considerably in order to bring the file size within the 400kb limit.
    In this case the quality was reduced to around 50%. Is thsi a problem, or is there a better way to get the right image size?

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    I have a question about posting .. When I 'save for web' I need to reduce the image quality considerably in order to bring the file size within the 400kb limit.
    In this case the quality was reduced to around 50%. Is thsi a problem, or is there a better way to get the right image size?
    Just answered it.
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Thanks Steve.

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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Hi Martin,

    love the light and the buffs. You gave the buffs enough space to walk to and details are fine. Shadows on the animals backs, my major subject , there is a blue cast in it. Easy to remove, saturation adjustments, helps you with it
    Very nice image and light.

    Have a great evening

    Ciao
    Anette

    PS the highlight in the RHS tree is a bit sticking out. I would reduce that a bit.

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    Thanks Anette, I notice you're on a blue cast mission at the moment.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Martin, the light in this image is gorgeous and I like the large amount of habitat. I might be tempted, see what you think, to cropping just a fraction past the branch of the dead tree on the LHS, loosing the two buffs. In doing so the half rear buff looks a bit like a rock, WDYT? Plus a sliver off the top to loose the green area, then you have a nice continuity. I will leave the colour to others.

    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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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Lovely light and scene Martin. I love the trees framing them and the amount of space you left all around.
    You can reduce file size by making sure you sharpen only the in-focus areas of an image. In this one the trees at the top contain fine detail which exacerbates file size if you sharpen them as well.
    I see some blue and some magenta in the shadows, but only slight casts.
    IMHO Madikwe is a very underrated safari destination - some good opportunities there for sure!
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lovely scene and gorgeous light. Good framing. Steve's suggestion for crop makes sense to me too. Loi

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Martin - Really nice light and good suggestions for alternate crop above. I too see the color casts in the shadows. Should be a quick and easy fix.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Thanks Rachel, Morkel, Steve,
    I'll make some small changes and re-post

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    OK,
    I have - I think - removed the blue cast spotted by Anette and others.
    I have toned down the brightness of the tree on the right - again spotted by Anette.
    i have also re-cropped to remove the little bit of green at the top
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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Hi Martin,

    had my laugh with your comments. With the blue cast. I heard that so often when I came to this forum. This sits in my head.
    Your RP looks now gorgeous, well done with all the suggestions above
    Are you happy with your image now? You need to like it

    Have a great day

    Ciao
    Anette

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    I heard that so often when I came to this forum. This sits in my head.
    Good Anette, lesson learnt, even 'arc' can spot it now. Sorry, 'arc' is a personal note.
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Cracking repost Martin and I would only wish for just a little more space on the left and right side to give a wider perspective to the scene - but not a image killer by any means.

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    Thanks Jamie,
    I could have left more space on the right but I cropped to eliminate a stray buffalo that was facing the wrong way and really spoiled the image. Left hand side is right up against the wall.

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