Wow ..... very hot and still fighting for the best place at the waterhole
Happy New Year to all of you pout there .......... lets start a new photographic adventure fro 2015 , wish you all the best light and most exciting sighting and photo opportunities .
I will jump into this year with a frame of that sequence that took place at our home waterhole in KTP , where i stayed with my SA companions (Gabriela and Andre ) .
These guys almost jumped into my car , so i shot frames as far as i could due to all that dust and finally they came to close for following that fast action .
I went for a B/W high key with the use of a plugin as a base conversion , rest was done manually within PS , some gardening was also made to remove distracting stuff ( a head of a wildebeest was too much in the frame )
I hope you like it .
EOS 1 Dx
EF 200 - 400 at 200 mm
F 4 ; Iso 160 ; 1/1000 sec
Thanks for looking and commenting to my recent threads .
O-la-la! Andreas, would you like me to keep my comments short and sweet? Or perhaps you would like the lengthy version?
Well I do like this very, very much, love the dust, also the eye of the character on the RHS, so expressive and tells so much about the feud between these two! I realised during this last trip that the best way to capture action at waterholes - when it comes to antelopes - is to find the most belligerent fellow in the group and just stay with him - I guess you might have done the same?
Composition works for me, I cannot see any traces of "gardening" so well done with the cloning, love the way the character on the RHS enters the scene... this is all about the action and the way those two collide, an image filled with expression and movement and the dust as it fills the space really helps build this image tremendously - well done Andreas, once again something to remember and so thought-provoking, this image is as inspiring as it can get
The dust really sets this off, Andreas! Love the intensity.
I would bump up contrast in midtones and blacks, though? Seems like it needs just a bit more "oomph"??
Framing is near-perfect with the one on the left all in and the one on RHS not "cut off" due to the dust (not obviously at least)...
Hi Andreas - The dust, the sense of movement and the eye really combine for a great image. I would burn the horns of the wb on the left very slightly and since being high key it is more of artsy image, I would clone out the three circles midframe to the left of the wb. Finally, I would also lessen the darker bg spot immediately above the left wb's rump.
Thanks Gabriela , Rachel, Morkel and Dumay for your kind comments , much appreciated .
With the RP i changed some subtle stuff you mentioned , but i stick with the contrast in the mid tones and the blacks , going for a true HK image .
Hi Andreas, this image I think has now kicked up a gear, somehow you seem to have conveyed an also 3D effect with the RH subject IMHO, with the plumes of dust and parts of the 'form' of the subject creating that depth which now in B/W has been emphasised more.
Sometimes it takes one element to make or break an image. The eye of the wildebeest on the right makes the image. Just try covering it up and see how less dramatic the scene becomes. The eye gives him that extra drama as he lurches out of the dust.
Fantastic image, glad I came across it, and thanks for sharing. The B/W higher contrast affect definitely suites my taste.