One of the most exciting moments on a safari is to follow a wild dog pack on a hunt. They move quickly thru the bushes and it was hard to keep up with them. Light is often a premium as the dogs don't get moving until late afternoon. On this day, they were moving mostly in the shade and the late evening cloud compounded the light issue. For brief moments, the sun peaked out of the cloud giving the dogs and the landscape beautiful colors. Not aan easy image to process since the dogs were in the shade here, so I'd like to get your comments and feedback.
1Dx
70-200f2.8 Ii + 1.4X III @ 98mm (I shouldn't have bothered with the 1.4X)
1/500
f5.6
ISO-1600
Handheld
Used graduated filter to reduce exposure in the highlights
Used Levels and Curves to brighten up the dogs a tad
A nice scene that fits your narrative well. I like the inclusion of the water/shoreline. As posted, the shaded area looks a little washed out. I think you should embrace the dappled light and darken the shaded area closer to what is was. The dogs will still stand out and it gives the scene a more dramatic and natural look to my eyes.
Hi Steve, thank you for your comments. I had reservation about brightening up the shadow area too. here is a RP. I kept the highlights down though as in the OP. Let's see what everyone will think. thanks. Loi
Hi Loi - the wild dogs certainly do move fast through the thick brush. I like the wide scene and the inclusion of the water too. I do wish the front dog was moving a bit more parallel to the camera rather than away. Definitely tough lighting conditions as they move in and out of the light. The op has the feeling of being recovered a bit too much. The rp is heading in the right direction but still feels a bit flat. I would try a luminosity mask to deepen it a bit. It might be worth going back to the raw and starting over. Happy to have a look if you want to send it via Dropbox.
Hi Loi,nice setting for the hunt, i have seen them only 2 times in 10 trips and always running.So glad you managed to get them in the frame.
Tough conditions to shoot , but as always mostly a matter of how to treat the image. This looks too bright overall , i think you can give the image more tonal depth and the colors will also come more alive, depending on what you want.
Plus i would sharpen the subjects more .
The repost is certainly an improvement on a difficult situation you had to contend with. A pretty memorable event to witness I am sure! Bummer the front dog was looking away but that was pretty much out of your control. To me the larger bright area in the water pulls my eye and for that reason I'd crop away at least half the water below...you'd still retain the aspect of a water front, but minimize that large bright spot. Excellent sense of habitat here.