I came across this herd of elephants on a determined march in search of water in the dry terrain of Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Needed to do a fair amount of work in Lightroom bringing out the details in the shadows but I'm quite pleased with the result. C&C welcome and appreciated.
Canon 5d mkiii, EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM, 22mm, 1/1600 @ f8, iso 800
Hi Charles -- I really like this one with the ele's moving purposefully toward the right side of the frame. Great colors and depth in the sky. Love the detail so we can see the footprints, which almost look like stepping stones along a path. My only nit-picky thing is the foot is almost being cut off on the bottom LHS - is this FF or do you have some space in the original to back off a bit here and give that foot a bit of space below it? The image also seems to be leaning a tad to the right, so could benefit from a slight CCW rotation.
Love to see the herd up close with dramatic sky. The details look great. Mark already mentioned the foot too close to the edge. I understand you won't be able to reposition the vehicle with the herd being so close, but the angle is a bit away from you. Loi
Thanks for the comments guys, appreciate your input. Agree re the foot, but this is the full frame. These guys were definitely in a rush and only allowed a few captures (which started with a 70-300) so had to quickly change lenses to get this and was my last chance as the bush to the right was quite thick and they disappeared into the bush shortly after this pic was taken. Would have loved a few more attempts but I guess that's wildlife photography for you...
I must start by telling you that I really really like this very much! There's something very attractive about the colours and that sky, as well as the two ellies at the back walking side by side, in step, a tandem that brings the word "dance" to mind, the rush to catch that much needed rain, animals driven by thirst, rushing yet not running...If this was mine I would try a more pano crop, I know you will lose some of that stunning led-loaded sky but worth trying IMO.
Indeed such is wildlife photography and I fully understand your circumstances and the lack of time, glad you managed this frame and may I dare suggest you also try add a tad of canvas on the bottom of the image?
Very well done and I surely look forward to your future posts!
Very dramatic image and well processed.
Easy to add a bit of canvass on bottom, no problem.
The drizzle that came down enhance their spoor, adds to image.
Slight magentas and green on ellies...
Do not mind them going, adds to "haste" feel.
Hi Charles , love this one a lot .
Great mood , a dynamic moving heard (even if moving away from the viewer ) ,that sky is just stunning .
Colors do look stunning to me , Andre there are no magentas or greens on the elephants . not at all .Check within PS .
I like the overall tonality , but would look for the blacks , they are slightly plugged .
Only nit is the "missing " space on the foot of the image .
Hi Charles - Welcome to BPN and the Wildlife Forum in particular. I agree with the other comments, nice details and colors in the elephants. I like the dramatic sky too but I do feel that you can bring out a bit more detail in the sky. It's tight in the lower left corner as others have said. In this case, I don't mind that the eles are angled away because it tells part of the story. Looking forward to seeing more of your images.
By the way, it would be great to have your thoughts on other people's wildlife images. We recommend posting at least 3-5 comments on other's images each time you post one of your own. Your comments don't have to be technical in nature. Just tell us what you like or don't like. It helps foster a sense of community and allow us all to learn from each other.
Welcome here Charles! I don't want to rehash what was said but will say I love wide angle shots of elephants, love the sense of motion here with the moody weather, and also wish that the feet were all in bottom left corner.
I echo what Rachel says - this is the most value adding forum for wildlife photographic growht in the world at the moment (and I post on many of them)...but the value will only come if you throw yourself into critiquing and receiving critique. Looking forward to more of your posts!
Thanks for the many comments and feedback. Gabriela, I'd like to give your suggestions a try. If it's not too much trouble could you please give me some pointers on how to add canvas to an image.
Charles -- Here is a good starting point (using PS CS6): zoom out to see whole image with space around side, crop tool, select white as foreground, (alt) click and drag, magic wand tool to select just the newly added clear area, select > modify > expand (10px); then edit > fill > content aware. Hope this helps.