I recently visited the northern parts of the Kruger National Park In South Africa. The area is very lush and green, and the bush is quite dense after above average rainfall then past couple of rainy seasons.
On the first morning that we woke up in the park, we decided to take one of the dirt roads close to Punda Maria Camp just as the gates opened before sunrise. Shortly after sunrise, we came across this bull in the road, who clearly made up his mind that he had the right of way and anything else would have to give way. We parked parallel in the road and took a few images of the approaching bull. Of all the images I took, this was the only one where the bull entered a bit of sunlight. The bull started to show aggressive tendencies at this point, and we had no option but to head the other way.
Normally I don't like images with the subject in a road, but I quite like this one as this scene is so typical of the dirt roads and the bush around Punda Maria Camp. Added to that, the elephant was out in the open which you don't always find, especially in the dense northern areas of Kruger.
Camera Model Canon EOS 6D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/160
Av(Aperture Value) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +2/3
ISO Speed 800
Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM +1.4x III
Focal Length 280.0mm
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
Drive Mode Continuous shooting
Editing done in LR5.
I cropped in to portrait format as it suited the scene better.
I used the adjustment brush to apply selective exposure adjustment on the elephant's head. Exposure was lifted very slightly.
Exposure lifted a touch, and I upped the temperature a touch to add warmth to the image.
Contrast lifted by 15, decreased the clarity, upped the Vibrance and Saturation by and 8 and 5 respectively.
Highlights decreased by about 20 as I was shooting into the light and the light above the elephant's head just clipped.
I applied Sharpening and a bit of noise reduction as well before exporting. I was thinking about trying multiple exposures through adjustment layers in PS Elements 12, but I still have bit to practice to do on that.
Thanks for looking, comments and critique always welcome!
Thinus
Last edited by Thinus Schoeman; 05-16-2014 at 01:07 PM.
Reason: Attached image twice
Hi Thinus - He certainly looks like a big bull and I would give him the right of way too. Is he missing a tusk? I don't mind the road here either. I like the morning light in the bg. There is a red cast to the image though and to a lesser extent some magenta so I dropped both. I also thought it felt a bit thin so I brought the left hand slider in on a levels layer to just before it clipped but also opened the midtones to 1.10. Finally I applied another round of sharpening to the ele. I think these are all adjustments that you should be able to make in Elements. Btw you can post verticals 900px high.
Hi Thinus, I really like the image, lovely light and just this solitary Bull strolling along the road. I also appreciate the story and in-depth details about the image, thanks.
Without seeing Rachel's RP, my first impression was the image was a little thin, and so I think it needed more depth to give presence. Although as Rachel mentioned there is some Red coming through, I would only reduce it on the road & subject. Giving an overall Midtone adjustment, then in Curves adjust the Midtone to add a hint more darkness, however apply this to the subject. Then it can stand several rounds of sharpening, subject only. I like the comp and even with the almost'blown' sky, it just gives a nice sense to the early morning scene, glad you kept the overhang branches on the top trim edge, it helps. A nice, arresting image Thinus.
Not sure if this helps, but this was my direction.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Lovely image. The mornign light in the BG works well here. i think this is a tough image to process because of the back lighting. Rachel addressed all of my thoughts. Steve's RP is very similar to Rachel's. Loi
This reminds me of a similar image myself and Andre took in the same area and which we affectionately called "Mighty Mouse" - our ellie was smaller but very upset, we had to reverse and find another path to go on...In fact we are heading that way in mid-June for a few days, just a short bundu-bashing in-between Kalahari trips.
The light was truly beautiful and you got a stunning background there with lovely colours, great action shot with the subject coming right at you (carrying a relatively large weapon, nogal!). I like Steve's RP best, it is very similar to Rachel's but I think he's sharpened the trunk a tad more, nevertheless a brilliant shot you can be proud of, great work Thinus
Hi Thinus i quite like the head on shot of this bull , even if i am not a fan of road shots. But light is gorgeous and makes this working for me.
As others already stated it is a bit thin in tones and can stand some more sharpening. Steve did a nice job on it.
Asking curious about your usage on negative clarity ?
Hi Thinus i quite like the head on shot of this bull , even if i am not a fan of road shots. But light is gorgeous and makes this working for me.
As others already stated it is a bit thin in tones and can stand some more sharpening. Steve did a nice job on it.
Asking curious about your usage on negative clarity ?
TFS Andreas
Hi Andreas, thanks for the comments and for viewing. Rachel's and Steve's versions just look so much better, and I felt they were able to get much more out of the image than what I was able to get.
With regards to decreasing clarity, it is actually a tip I received from Morkel when I attended a course he presented a few weeks ago. When decreasing clarity to a maximum of -40, the subject tends to stand out from the background more, and it has the effect of almost blurring the background more. I have tried it only on a few images but I quite like the effect it creates.
With regards to the rest of my PP skills, after looking at the excellent edited versions of Rachel and Steve, I am almost ashamed of my PP work, and I seriously need to get my act together in this area.
Hi Thinus - He certainly looks like a big bull and I would give him the right of way too. Is he missing a tusk? I don't mind the road here either. I like the morning light in the bg. There is a red cast to the image though and to a lesser extent some magenta so I dropped both. I also thought it felt a bit thin so I brought the left hand slider in on a levels layer to just before it clipped but also opened the midtones to 1.10. Finally I applied another round of sharpening to the ele. I think these are all adjustments that you should be able to make in Elements. Btw you can post verticals 900px high.
TFS,
Rachel
Hi Rachel
Thanks for your feedback and for viewing. Both your and Steve's versions look some much better, with so much more detail extracted in both images. You really managed to get much more out of the image than what I did, but I could really have done another round or two of sharpening myself before positing. I am not real proud of my PP effort on this one, but I'll do my best to learn from it. I really have to give attention to mid tones as well during my editing process, and really learn to look at all the important finer detail.
This reminds me of a similar image myself and Andre took in the same area and which we affectionately called "Mighty Mouse" - our ellie was smaller but very upset, we had to reverse and find another path to go on...In fact we are heading that way in mid-June for a few days, just a short bundu-bashing in-between Kalahari trips.
The light was truly beautiful and you got a stunning background there with lovely colours, great action shot with the subject coming right at you (carrying a relatively large weapon, nogal!). I like Steve's RP best, it is very similar to Rachel's but I think he's sharpened the trunk a tad more, nevertheless a brilliant shot you can be proud of, great work Thinus
Lekker slaap (sleep tight)!
Hi Gabriela
Thanks (Baie dankie ;) for looking and for your comments. Steve and Rachel really showed me what the image could be with proper editing. I am still proud of the image, not so much of my editing effort.
Was your light metering (sorry, I'm Nikon) a reading on the complete image? (Matrix)
Have you thought of centre-weighted metering? The exposure on the ellie would be spot on, BG a bit over exposed.
Some schools advocate to expose on the brightest area, some ETTR, I found for fast grab and shoot shots, centre-weighted gives me the best results.( with +/- EV, of course!)
May I even dare to mention that sometimes I use SPOT-metering?
after looking at the excellent edited versions of Rachel and Steve, I am almost ashamed of my PP work, and I seriously need to get my act together in this area.
Thinus, never, ever be ashamed of posting images, remember, we have all been here and it just takes time to hone your skills and build on what you learn. Keep it simple, don't get bogged down with truck loads of software, you will never use it all. Getting it right in camera is your best starting point, as it will mean less time at the PP stage, your images will look cleaner and you will have more time to be, out in the field.
If you come away each time when posting, with something you have learnt and can enhance your photography then the thread and advice given by all who partake has done the job.
My take is you need +0-5 Clarity if you are using LR 5.4 and I would not go beyond 10 as it's far more refined, but depends on the image & content.
Keep posting and taking images, it's the best way to learn.
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Thinus i can only echo Steve by saying no need for feeling ashamed , by far not.We all started at a stage where we have not been as good as today . So just try and try harder to learn your working horse (Cam,lenses and your computer and PP skills ) It is all playing a role in that game , but the major point is to get what you want out there in the field. Once the shot is gone , it is gone forever .At the computer you can start over and over again .
I was just wondering if you used negative clarity on the whole image , cause it looks quite soft to me .
BTW , there are thousand ways in editing to achieve what you want to achieve , complex and difficult ones and some easier ones , Plus we all have different views and preferences regarding all the stuff that comes with an image (color,contrast, detail , sharpness , composition etc, etc)Just follow the threads and you will see how different we all look at the same image.
Echo Steve - go out shoot and process and post them here. Try to grab info and sort out what is fitting your needs , it is all relative .
Thinus - I can only echo what Steve and Andreas say above. Never be ashamed to post or to ask for help. Also take the suggestions that are made, try to apply them yourself and repost. It's the best way to learn. The other key to pp is having the right tools. I was dragged kicking and screaming from DPP to Elements to full Photoshop. Now, I couldn't imagine not having the tools of PS. If I recall correctly, Elements still has some limitations. It has to so that people want to buy PS. So you might want to make the plunge and try PS instead of Elements.
Was your light metering (sorry, I'm Nikon) a reading on the complete image? (Matrix)
Have you thought of centre-weighted metering? The exposure on the ellie would be spot on, BG a bit over exposed.
Some schools advocate to expose on the brightest area, some ETTR, I found for fast grab and shoot shots, centre-weighted gives me the best results.( with +/- EV, of course!)
May I even dare to mention that sometimes I use SPOT-metering?
Cheers
Andre
Hi Andre
You raise a very important aspect, which I actually know about, but which has not become engrained yet in my thought process when I'm out in the field. I'm referring to metering method. I used Evaluative meeting here, but I know very well that Centre-weighted or spot metering would have been better for this situation, as I was also shooting against the light. It is a valuable lesson learnt, because one often only get one chance to get it right.
Late to this one, Thinus. Quick one on the "negative clarity" I showed you - remember that when taking overall clarity down (and yes -40 is for some images and -5 for others, you need to look at the effect and decide for yourself), remember to selectively use the brush tool in LR and paint back clarity (if -40 globally, +40 locally, etc) on the subject, that is what makes it stand out
I also love the mood, backlight and the typical Punda-scene here. I've had to back down for a grouchy ele on this road as well before. Rachel and Steve showed you what could be achieved here. I'd be happy to work up the file from RAW for you as well, you'll just need to send it to me via Dropbox or something
PS: It was good having you in my course and finally meeting you in person
Punda Roadblock
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Originally Posted by Andreas Liedmann
) a reading on the complete image? (Matrix)
