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Thread: Wild Dogs on a Hunt

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    Default Wild Dogs on a Hunt

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    On our last day at Selinda camp, we decided to drive out where we left the dogs the night before to see if their hunt was successful. We saw 3 dogs in hot pursuit of an impala after sunset, no light, so no images. Our vehicle was the last of the 3 that left camp and we were all lingering a bit to take pictures of the sunrise. Then out of no where 2 dogs were crashing thru the bush right in front of our vehicle and our guide yelled "Dogs!!!" 30 sec earlier and we would have missed them.

    They stopped temporarily to re-group and the herd of giraffes at a distance was watching them intensely. No, the dogs weren't after the giraffes. We followed them for a while, but then eventually lost them, but later we saw vultures coming in by the hundreds circling, so we assumed they had a successful kill.

    1DX
    70-200f2.8 II @ 70mm
    1/500
    f8
    ISO-3200 (Should have dropped the ISO to 1600 as I don't need the 1/500 SS for this shot)

    One of my main objectives on this trip was to capture animals in their habitat, so I was making an effort to shoot with the 70-200 more often.

    Thank you for your comments.

    Loi
    Last edited by Loi Nguyen; 04-24-2014 at 09:56 PM.

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    Lifetime Member Colin Driscoll's Avatar
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    Very good scene Loi, I have nothing to pick with it and I share your enthusiasm for capturing animals in their habitat. As an ecologist by profession I always like to get a shot that tells something about the subject.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Loi, looks like Selinda came up trumps for you, it's a great location & camp, one of my favourites, nice to see you managed to see 'dogs' not always achievable as they are constantly criss-crossing boundaries etc.

    If you have it, then some more FG would be good, I personally feel it's a tad tight and if so, I would lose the dead wood on the trim edge. Overall the image I think looks a wee bit flat/thin, perhaps pulling back on the exposure & upping the Vib/sat may help to give a tad more richness & depth to the image. I think you were fine on the SS, but I'm unsure about the sharpness???? Adding a graduate filter to the skyline will also help bring a bit more out of the original capture via LR, trust you have upgraded . I like the position of the pack and the giraffes in the BKG, works well for me.

    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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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Loi - I really like the wide scene and the inclusion of both giraffes and dogs. As usual Steve has made some excellent suggestions for taking this to the next level. I agree with Steve that it looks a bit thin as posted. Also the grasses look sharper than the dogs so perhaps some more selective sharpening on the dogs or back off on the grasses. I would also try some LCE on the sky to bring out more detail in the clouds. Keep them coming.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Hi Steve & Rachel, thank you for the good suggestions. Yes, I have updated to LR5.4, but will need to learn how to use the Graduated Filter. Rachel, what's LCE? Loi

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Loi - LCE is Local Contrast Enhancement. It's used more in landscape images but will be good here for the sky. You can "Google" it for more info and tutorials but basically it is done by applying USM at a low amount (generally 10-30%) and a higher radius (say 20-50). Experiment a bit and you'll see the effects.

    Rachel

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    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
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    Yes agree with Steve. But I also love the balance between the giraffes and the dogs and the body positions of the dogs. Very indicative of them as a species! Nice work.
    Ed

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Another nice habitat image here Loi, but do agree on being a little bit flat, an easy fix of course.


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    Agreed with all the comments above regarding being a bit flat and tight. So I tried my hands on the Graduated Filter here for the first time and decided to go with the traditional 2:3 crop. Hope you will like it better. Thanks a lot. Loi

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Still looks a little flat here Loi.

    Tweaked the contrast, curves adj, in PS CC and came up with this, could drop the sat level a tad - your preference?:


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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Loi, you have more detail and tonal range in the sky which is better and adds more depth overall. The lower 2/3rds appears to have a lot of blue, remove that, then toggle with vib/sat. I think this too could be an image that would benefit from double processing, as it will allow you more flexibility.
    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 Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Loi, great animal in landscape scene with the two species. All looks balanced to me .
    Your versions are looking a bit flat and lifeless ,but easy to solve . I think Marc went a bit over the top in the blacks and sat, but not much think.
    Good suggestions by Steve, think it it worth to spent a bit of work on the frame.

    TFS Andreas

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Lovely scene Loi - not often that we see doggies and giraffes in the same frame
    I agree with the comments above on framing and tonal contrast - Marc's repost has the pop that your OP lacks for me (albeit perhaps 5% overcooked as viewed per my tastes).
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Indeed a lovely scene Loi, and I think the dogs were up to something, all looking in different directions and on the go.
    I think your image would have benefitted from more SS there Loi, I would have dropped the F-stop to get more SS at the risk of my giraffes looking a bit soft. But of course this is a matter of personal choice. Love the RP, although I feel that Marc's own version has a bit more punch. The giraffes look stunning, all peppered in the BG among those lovely trees.

    Well done, super capture, would love to have such an image in my folders too

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    Gabriela Plesea

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