Another image from a trip to the local zoo..(sigh...) This is a bit tighter than I would want but if I dare to step back then space along the bottom of the frame is immediately filled with little bobbing heads covered in ice cream.
1/1600 @ F9 ISO 1600.
1D4 and 500 F4 on tripod and Wimberley 2 head
It's almost FF, cropped sides to make a 5 x 7 aspect ratio to put the eye a bit closer to where I would want it..
I like the portrait, Don. The details on the horn & eye is good. The image seems a bit soft on the lower jaw;not sure why with ss of 1/1600 and f9?.
I agree a bit more space at the bottom would be nice.
Cheers, Hennie
Hi Don nice and tight with good detail and sharpness .
Unfortunately the head is slightly turned away , not much you can do. Overall the tones does look better in the BKG , a bit thin in the subject .
Lovely detail and sharpness on the horn and near the eye here, Don. I do, however, feel that the BG detracts from the image by competing with the rhino. Maybe soften the BG a bit? Or, a B&W / mono conversion with a much darker BG could also look awesome here.
Hi Mark, Thanks for the comments. I have darkened the BG a little but did not soften...Will try that. I have already tried a Mono (its on the wall behind me here at work) but did not try a very dark BG and so the FG/BG separation is not strong. Will try a mono with dark BG also..
Thank you for this post, enjoyed viewing, rhinos are so special, Don! When I read your text I suddenly had a thought that in the future we might only see this species in a zoo...
Some lovely detail on the horn and I you could try to sharpen the mouth a tad further if you feel it is needed. Not sure if it is my monitor and I see no one has mentioned it above, but I seem to notice some blues and magenta casts below the nostril and around the eye? What I like most about this portrait is the horn with all those lovely textures, but also the eye, which is open and one can see the pupil. The crop is fine with me and I don't feel the need to see more on the bottom of the image, instead I wish for a cleaner BG, the log behind the horn is a bit distracting but you probably did not have a choice. I personally think you could do more with this, like a bit of burning and dodging to emphasise the wrinkles and some noise reduction on the BG. I would like to see your B/W version too, if possible.
Thank you for your comments. Yes, the Magentas and blues were a bit of a problem at the points you mentioned and also on the little horn between the eyes, and I spent a bit of time with the WB & tint sliders in ACR trying to get these areas right. (I do this by selecting a few of the blackest black and trying to balance the 3 channels with WB..) Unfortunately when the nostril balanced the whole image looked too warm so I reverted to making the image look correct in terms of warmth, and then selectively addressing the cast areas using the HSL and a brush. Apparently not well enough...(Unfortunately I still work from an uncalibrated monitor.. ) Now I have just remembered that I read in a Scott Kelby book that it is possible to do local WB adjustments in ACR... Huh..! I bet that's the fix..!!
Thank Gabriela, for your Lion images and your warm comments, and the mental prompt..
Best regards
DON
Last edited by Don Railton; 09-15-2014 at 06:58 PM.
Hi Don, firstly this has cracking detail which has portrayed the lovely texture of the hide, very nice indeed. Agree on your own observations, a little tight so stepping back or using another lens may have been better, allowing for a more flexible crop perhaps? But again, with hindsight. Techs look good and I like the overall light, especially where the natural light has 'sculpted' parts of the profile. Yes having the head slightly turned away is not ideal, but being in a captive location your access may not be as good as those in the wild. Likewise the habitat is what it is, so nothing you could do, personally I would leave it as is, even shooting wide open would not have helped I feel as the elements are just too close and separation would be hard. Yes you could artificially knock the BKG back, and this might be an option? Agree with Gabriela on selectively removing that blue, use a layer and you can target the area specifically, but remember to also change the blend mode, would not try this in HSL as this will be global and effect other areas.
I just wish to thank you as well for commenting on my images
Don, err...there are so many lions in my folders, a few thousand of them...hope you won't get bored. Steve has given you some good tips above, I would love to see an RP of this rhino sometime!
Thanks again for the comments. Repositioning for a better head angle was problematic with both the available space and a number of little excited bodies... I tried selective WB adjustment on the cast using the brush in ACR and found it works wonderfully better than the method I tried in the OP. So another tool in the toolkit.. I am also reworking a B&W to try and use those shadows/lighting over the face, and hope to repost soon. I want to do the 'walk away and come back another day' test before I post...
First up, please accept my apologies if you are sick of looking at this image.. I am going through a bit of revision of my thoughts lately on what makes a good photo and I have been consciously stripping out detail trying to get to the 'guts' of what makes a good image... along with the help of BPN of course. I have two new B&W's of this Rinho image to share to help with this quest. I have thought previously this image was a good candidate for B&W but I was never really happy with the result. Its tacked on the wall behind my workstation at work, so it gets plenty of viewing time... The two images I post tonight I am happier with, but I would be keen to know which of the two you prefer... one of them is a step off the path I would normally take.
Hi Don, I think you are absolutely right in that occasionally 'we' need to step away from an image and look at it afresh, perhaps a day later as often we see things a lot better, and with more clarity. This is why it took me almost a month before looking at the SA images as I wanted a clear head before the final edit.
Just a gut feeling how about the lighter rhino and the dark BRG? The only thing is that the stark contrast may not reflect the lighting conditions????
Hi Don -Sorry, I'm late to the party because I was away this weekend. There's been a lot of good discussion and suggestions already for both in the field and in pp. While I like the dramatic light of the black and whites, you lose the eye that is so great in the color version. It's often hard to see the eye and you have captured it well. Really nice detail and texture overall too. Just wish the head was parallel to the sensor or towards you rather than angled slightly away. Keep them coming.
I agree w/ Steve. Lighter rhino (image 1 rhino) on darker BG (image 2 BG) would work best IMHO and it will also retain the details in the eye as per Rachel's comment. I would, however, tone down the brightest highlights (e.g., tip of horn, above and below eye) just a touch in the image 1 rhino when you combine the images otherwise it will be too stark a contrast with the darker BG.
Hi Rachel, No apologies needed..! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. you are right, I have had lots of help and as always I have learnt more in the wildlife forum.. at the very least I will spell Rhino correctly from now on. Thanks you for your comments too..
Hi Mark
Thanks for your input again, most valued and appreciated..
Rinho (C)
, a bit thin in the subject
.
. Steve has given you some good tips above, I would love to see an RP of this rhino sometime!
I am also reworking a B&W to try and use those shadows/lighting over the face, and hope to repost soon. I want to do the 'walk away and come back another day' test before I post...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
