Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Giraffe Sunburst

  1. #1
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    14,858
    Threads
    1,235
    Thank You Posts

    Default Giraffe Sunburst

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Time for me to jump into the theme. I would like some honest thoughts on this one.
    Taken close to sunset in my beloved Kgalagadi. This guy was next to the road. I zoomed in tight to limit distracting bushes around him. Chose aperture for the sunburst and exposed for the brightness of the sun to get a silhouette. I wish he was standing on the ridge and the legs were more nicely defined, but then you'd not get the tongue out...

    I'm not 100% happy with the end result, but haven't found myself ready to bin it either...what do you think?

    Techs:
    Nikon D800
    Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 165mm
    f22 | 1/400 SS | ISO-320
    EV -1
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


  2. #2
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Perth Western Australia
    Posts
    2,546
    Threads
    171
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Morkel

    I find do find it tight, to me the head especially is pushed into the corner a bit too much for me. I Understand why you did make it tight as I think there is a hint of the bush you were trying to avoid on the RH border. Makes me wonder though which is the worst evil... For the image as it stands I think a bit more definition of the lower legs would help. I think the DR of the D800 would allow this?

    Regards

    Don




    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    1,298
    Threads
    112
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Interesting, Morkel! I agree with Don about getting a little more leg detail - perhaps by simply raising the shadows a tad in LR? Funny, I find the tongue a little off-putting and if I had exactly the same pic without the tongue it would have been my preferred version (but that's just me!). Maybe a little tight top & right but if you want to go portrait, that's the only way to go. Nice picture regardless!

  4. #4
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Thousand Oaks, California, United States
    Posts
    3,023
    Threads
    416
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Morkel, good choice of exposure for the sunburst. Good attempt to do something different, but i too feel that it is way too tight. Sorry. Loi

  5. #5
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    West Chester, PA
    Posts
    719
    Threads
    159
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    nice image, as stated above its too tight. Also while I like the silhouette, its not a 100% convincing. Did you try it in B&W?

  6. #6
    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Dortmund / Germany
    Posts
    10,906
    Threads
    1,196
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Morkel , difficult one .......... but for the honesty , i would bin it .
    I like the sunburst and the trees in BKG. I think it could work better with more space for the Giraffe head and more important more room for virtual legs, looks like my cut off arm .No need of detail in the legs for me.

    TFS Andreas

  7. #7
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    7,738
    Threads
    455
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I personally like it, Morkel, although I see a few small problems

    Things like this grab my attention, and what I like the most is that you managed to process in such a way that the sun does not burn my eyes. Not too tight for me on the sides, but it does need some extra space on the bottom. The tongue sticking out does not work for me, it makes the giraffe look like a unicorn... Colours are lovely, love the title, and dear Morkel-please note- it is MY Kalahari!

    Now seriously, what I like about Morkel the photographer is that you SEE things and take the trouble to capture them, probably thinking " this is beautiful, let me shoot this, I will see what I will do with it"...Unconventional, unseen, and such a special sighting - please do not bin it, you can easily add some at the bottom and I would clone out the tongue by the muzzle, if this were mine.

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

  8. #8
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    14,320
    Threads
    929
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Morkel - I like the thought process behind the image and the experimenting but I agree with the others that it is not a favorite for me of your images. The sunburst is great but I'm not sure about its placement on the giraffe and within the frame. The tightness is an issue and the tongue out doesn't do it for me here. Also the giraffe is angled slightly away. As always though what really matters is whether you like it.

    TFS,
    Rachel

  9. #9
    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Somewhere in the world
    Posts
    20,551
    Threads
    1,285
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Morkel, i like the overall concept & colours in this one and I think for me it falls into WIP (Work in Progress).

    Agree it needs more below for the virtual legs, however I guess you are stuck with what you have unless this is cropped? Personally Ii would not lighten it as this is backlit and for me, even at this size there is enough detail and going lighter would kill the concept. I agree with Rachel, the tongue out is not great as it ruins the outline of the head which I feel is important. I would also have preferred to have more spindly branches on the RH tree rather than the heavier branches so close to the subject. I like the rays of sun was this with a filter, never see the rays like this without a 'creative' filter, interesting the sensor was OK afterwards with such strong light.

    I think this has 'legs' Morkel, just needs some fine tuning in the planning IMHO.

    TFS
    Steve

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics