Zebra's in line!
Photographed at a special moment on a friend's weekend getaway farm in Parys, Free State, South Africa. Cropped in LR for composition. Minimal adjustments done for sharpness. I love how the vertical head lines and grasses comlement each other.
Nikon d600, 1/100s, f8, ISO 100, 300mm, on beanbag with Sigma 150-500mm.
Hi Tobie, based on the diagonal line of the zebras I would suggest going for a slightly tighter crop (say 10 x8) losing image content left & right, as the space for me isn't quite working, especially to the right. The grasses over the muzzles is slightly distracting, but not much you could have done. Looking at the techs the SS is way too slow, you needed to up the ISO for a minimum of 1/500 based on the lens, ideally a lot more if you are HH, as the rule of thumb was 500mm lens 1/500 SS. Based on f/8 I would also expect a lot more detail too, there is no real 'fine' detail as such, it's all looks a little soft, but this could well be due to the low SS, cropping, 'minimal sharpening', or a combination of all three perhaps.
BTW, what is causing the repeat pattern of horizontal lines in the BKG, is it cloning?
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Tobie - Welcome to the Wildlife Forum. It's always nice to see zebras. Steve has covered most of the major points in his critique. One additional point is that the red channel is clipped.
We appreciate your jumping in and commenting on other images. It's the best way to get the most out of BPN and to learn.
Steve- I'm pretty sure those lines are a fence.
TFS,
Rachel
Thanks for your valuable comments guys! I was playing around with various settings that morning and this 'pose' materialised under these particular settings - your comments are spot-on in that regard, Steve! DSLR is still relatively new to me and I often challenge the 'rules of thumb' on purpose. Rachel is right, you're looking at a fence in the BG. Please keep an eye on this thread as I'd like to play with your crop suggestion when I get a chance later on and your opinions are highly valued..
Tighter crop (ala Steve), brought back the reds (ala Rachel). I was unable to get the same sharpness this time.
Hi Tobie - IMHO this is too tight all around and the IQ has suffered from the additional crop. How much of a crop was the op? The reds are still clipped. Look at the histogram for the red channel in PS. Perhaps posting your straight out of camera shot would allow us to make better pp suggestions.
Rachel
Hi Tobie, I am only guessing, but are you working from the posted image or the original??? You should really be saving your 'Master' file as a PSD so you can always revisit it with all the layers and changes made in tact, cropping and Saving as, retaining always the Master file. This is not ideal, but based on your OP, adjusting the exp, reducing the blown/clipped whites and blacks you do get a better 'tonal' value, but always best to use the original/master file to work on.
cheers
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Tobi,
the RP from Steve does it for me. You got great suggestions above from Rachel & Steve.
Have a great Sunday
Ciao
Anette
Thanks guys! Steve, I agree - that looks nice. I work in LR which keeps the last state of the file worked on. In my 2nd photo I accidentally brought in the jpg instead of the WAR file so you're spot on. Thanks again!
Hi Tobie. Glad you found time to post in Wildlife
Some good builds here already - Steve's crop is the best for me (I had the same thought when looking at your original post).
His rework of sharpness/contrast also added some pop to your photo. This journey into photography (and the resulting required processing) is going to take you for a wild ride! Please don't hesitate to ask us anything.
Thanks Morkel - that's why I'm here. I've found that the critique is a lot 'stricter' (for a lack of words) here than other forums I'm used to - just what I need to step up my game. Also, there are most respectable members around from whom I'd love to tap knowledge and experience (such as yourself). In other words: I'm going to enjoy the ride, for sure!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
