First post in this section of the forum. I usually photograph birds and was out this morning when my attention was taken by an otter eating a large fish on the opposite bank of the river but too far away to make a worthwhile image. Soon a second otter appeared on the bank an dived into the river to fish. I watched this otter for some time as it surfaced an dived, but was always too far away. I then spent some time photographing a passing Heron when I noticed a line of bubbles moving towards me and knew that it was an otter, and by a stroke of absolute luck it surfaced just in front of me, fish in mouth. I think the story here is that the otters have a nest with young and this fish was being taken to feed them.
Hi David, I've only seen these in Scotland either on Mull or up in the Shetlands, but never this close, 100-400, you are extremely lucky.
I quite like the position in frame, especially the bow wave and trailing bubbles behind, the small fish with a glimpse of the tail is a real bonus. I would look more at 1600 or 2000+ for SS as these are quick. The RP is slightly better, but overall the colours does look off, not quite right. To me the image looks/appears to be flooded with a lot of blue, the highlights are slightly clipped. I might suggest if you have the time, revisit the original RAW, try to get a more 'neutral WB', then balance the Exp, i.e. highlights, lights, darks & shadows, this should provided a good platform, if you do have the urge to apply some saturation, be sparing.
I had a quick look and to me the image is more 'monochromatic' with little vibrant colour and the colours more subdued/muted, but you were there.
Hope you get some more images in the future and are able to share too. Don't forget to add your thoughts to other images within the Forum, it's a great way to learn.
Hi David - Welcome to the Wildlife Forum! I love the fish sticking out of the mouth and all those whiskers. The rp does look better than the op. As usual, Steve has given excellent advice for getting the most out of the image. I too am looking forward to seeing more wildlife images from you.
Rachel and Steve, thanks for your comments. Steve, thanks for valuable advice. I have been back to the original RAW file and have tried to be a little more understanding of the original capture and a little less enthusiastic on the sliders. Here is a re-post.
Hi David, I think that's better, perhaps a little 'saturated' but you have a better handle on the overall colours/situation. I was going more 'muted', however I like the hint of blue you have in the water, gives a bit more life. It looks as if you have change the crop and gone in tighter, therefore the IQ I feel has suffered a little. Hope this thread has been of help and you can progress more otter shots, the Avian images look good BTW. I'm sure Rachel will chime in to after this.
Yes spooky Steve. David - I agree with Steve that the wider crop held up better. So much of processing such as warmth and color is subjective to some extent. We all have our preferences in how we process an image and whether we are trying to achieve a shot representative of what we actually saw or a shot more pleasing to more viewers.