Been away for a short time , back with mass of blubber .
Taken this image of two serious fighting males on South Georgia Island in Right Whale Bay.
I saw them starting to build up their fight from a far distance , so i rushed along the beach to get closer with all my heavy gear , i was exhausted when i got `close`.
Got the gear ready and fired a couple of shots and then ........ they stopped , sadly.
So conditions have not been ideal , all shots taken in kind of hectic.
In many frames where these two have been in good compositional position , i cut off one fin ..... sadly.When they have been fully in the frame i was ending up with a not ideal head pose or something similar.
So solution was to crop it heavily for better comp.
Canon EOS 1D MK IV
Ef 500 IS L
Tripod
F 7,1 ; Iso 1600 ; 1/1250 sec.
Processed in Canon DPP and PS CC ; cropped to 40% of FF and portrait .some removal of distraction in FG.
Thanks for watching and commenting to my previous post .
This is one cool image Andreas, exceptional detail on the two subjects and very well exposed. I like the comp too, glad you left all that space at the top.
I can just imagine you running on the beach with all the gear, well worth it, very special capture
Hi Andreas, the image is nice and sharp. From the action stand point though, this image does not convey the fierce fight between them though -- this is from the critique standpoint, not to say that I know how to shoot better ;). As for the running and carrying all that gear, have you tried to shoot handheld? I find the 500f4 Mark II is quite hand holdable, but have not tried the Mark I. I understand it is quite a bit heavier. TFS. Loi
Hi Andreas - I like the sort of mirrored poses of the seals. The vertical comp works well. The cool tones and colors seem appropriate for the location and environment. Sharpness looks good and at this size the large crop isn't affecting IQ too much.
Hi Andreas, like the interaction and as Rachel said, the almost mirrored bodies. Nice perspective and I also like the backdrop, conveys the location. Personally I would run a mid tone adjustment to bring some more tonal depth, then, and nice to see Morkel using one of my words () 'sculpt' in some more light on the lighter areas of the body to bring a tad more form. Perhaps a sliver off the RHS???? Nice IQ considering the the crop, and good to see the trusty MKIV doing well in not so 'ideal' locations.
Thanks folks for having a look and your comments , appreciated.
Loi - as i have described in the intro i was REALLY exhausted (carried roughly 25 kg of gear with me everyday on the landings , plus all the layers of clothes on my body) after ´jogging´along the beach , finally finding out i was actually too close for the two bulls to get them horizontally fully in the frames .
And i was not able to shoot handholding while standing (pumping lungs) , and laying down was not possible to get a clean shot due to the beach structure and other seals lying in front, so i used the tripod.I have frames where both are fully in the frame , but head angles not ideal or other issues .
So i hope this explains the crop i made , a compromise ...........
Steve - followed your suggestion regarding tone and tried to sculpture the seals , looks better to me.Thanks for pointing this out.Leave the crop as is , because i like the central placement .
Thanks Dumay , not DPP 4 , just the old version . Not working with the `old` bodies ....... yet , but should come for the older models , too. I am hoping for the Photokina in september.