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Thread: Small Threat from the Big guy

  1. #1
    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Default Small Threat from the Big guy

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    Image captured yesterday with Carl at Zuka.
    Carl picked up the spoor and we followed, found this old ex-Kruger bull in some nice habitat where he was feeding peacefully.
    We sat with him for about 30min, when he decided suddenly to show us who was the biggest..
    For a change I was not the driver, and could continue shooting while the upset Carl moved us along to give him a little more space, the bull's uncalled for behaviour was not accepted by Hluhluwe trio, but then he was indeed bigger than us.

    Image captured about 13h00 in overcast weather.
    Exposure was on the bull, trying not to include sky while getting the habitat surrounding him.
    In the burst had some blown sky in top left, I decided extended the mountain..
    Decided to leave the bit of road at his feet.

    Nikon D3S with 70-200 f2,8 @ 85mm
    1/1250 with 7,1
    ISO 2200
    Ps We are sitting in the dark with the UPS going, no electricity AGAIN, the third time today... this is Africa for you
    Last edited by Andre Pretorius; 11-24-2014 at 01:29 PM. Reason: Eskom!!!
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

  2. #2
    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Fantastic so impressive, i wouldn't hang about either if he was coming for me...... beats me why the females wait for him there must be a reason

  3. #3
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Andre - Great action and timing. Nice details and textures brought out. A bit tight at the bottom but difficult to frame when they're this close and charging. I don't mind the road because it tells the story of how close he was. I might back off on the sharpening slightly. Also there is a cyan cast to the trees/bushes on the distant hillside. Easy fixes if you want.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hey brother , you and the elephants .......... a story on its own.
    Andre i love this action shot , well timed and lucky that Carl was the driver .
    Image is a bit tight on bottom and top , but fully understand in the heat of the moment you just fire regardless the setting you use.
    Overcast skies helped with contrast i think.
    Agree with Rachel about the cyan in the BG . Overall i think you should have processed the image at - 1/3 of a stop . Watch your histogram , you have blown the red/green channel in the HL .the whole frame is a bit dull from the tonal POV, maybe a matter of taste .
    To me sharpening is spot on , Andre .

    Cheers Andreas

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    Andre, this is a great action image. the swaying trunk and -----, the head-on charging pose all make this a terrific shot!

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Woah, you got a "double trunk shake"!
    Nice clarity, "pop" and overall tones - might add a hint more midtone contrast on the big guy only?
    Dig the ear. I feel you with the power - no schedule available for our area so you just hold on tight and hope it stays on all day!
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


  7. #7
    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Andre, as he wasn't wearing grey socks I knew it wasn't Andreas .

    Having the zoom does give you the flexibility and you did have a little extra in reserve to get a bit more top & bottom, but as Andreas said, in the heat of the moment. Like the slight off centre position of the subject, ear and trunk flapping/swaying in gesticulation and being slightly on the rise, adds a bit more to the overall impact of the encounter.

    TFS
    Steve

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    Hi Andre, a great moment well captured. I like the fact that you captured plenty of habitat in the background, but without picking up any real distracting elements. The sharpness of the subject, and OOF background, really make the subject jump off the screen. Great action with the swinging trunk and tail, and extended ear.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    I really like this Andre.
    It would be really easy to add about 3% canvas to the bottom of the frame to give you a bit of breathing room.
    Very dynamic pose with the one ear up and trunk and " junk" swaying to the left!
    I agree about the slight cyan/green cast to the image and that is an easy fix.
    Sharpening and PP extension of mountain work look good.

  10. #10
    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Hi Everyone

    Ok, listened to all the advice... Reduced Cyans in BG, brought exposure down globally 1/3, added some more contrast on Big Guy.
    Had to straighten image, lost some at bottom and top( we were driving off-road, some camera shake), had some critique for man made objects- no more road...
    Image was basically done with TK and a few script actions, no plug-inns..
    Is it better?
    Gail, this "trunk" is for sure not junk...
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

  11. #11
    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Andre I not convinced adding more 'Contrast' to the image is right, I much prefer the OP, but this is all subjective, just watch the halo around the right ear as viewed.

  12. #12
    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Andre , i am with Steve regarding RP and contrast
    I meant something like this , but just dropped the lightness of the HL and 1/4 tones by 1/3 stop , well roughly .
    WDYT ?
    Cheers Andreas , back to the game with the ball

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    Great stuff Andre. Everything swinging in to place. Great motion captured and well timed. Yeah these power drops are a pain.

  14. #14
    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Thank you all for comments and input, still have a lot to learn! BUT at the same time, have to spent more time in the bush to capture these images, my favourite activity!!
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

  15. #15
    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Andre for sure the better option to stay in the bush , would be nice to get the images developed by somebody else who exactly know what he is doing , and know what you want to achieve with your images . but this is just a dream

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