D200; 80-400mm @ 370mm, hand held
ISO 400; f/6.5, 1/125 sec; MM -0.67
Std CS6 adjustments; as framed without crop
This image was captured when Linda and I explored higher elevations of Panama, in search of birds to photograph. It was early in the morning, and there was fog. And through that fog, these horses appeared.
In preparing the image for posting, I did as little as possible in Photoshop, because I wanted to preserve the foggy scene. What I like most is the remarkable character in the faces of those horses!
All comments and suggestions are as always appreciated.
Thank you so much for sharing your capture with us in the Wildlife Forum, indeed a very interesting and amusing facial expression from the horse on the R side of the image:)
I am not quite sure whether it is the presence of fog, the low shutter speed, or a combination of both that created this blur effect - given the content of the image ( fun, dynamic ) I personally would have preferred more clarity on the horses' faces.
There's something docile and domesticated about this "misty" look and it does not quite work for me. Of course, others might perceive this image in a different way and I look forward to hear their opinions.
Love your thinking here and the content is great, I would like to see a few more frames of those horses at various apertures if you have, in order to get a better idea of what works best. The above is just my initial impression as I opened the thumbnail. Been thinking about this image since last night when I saw it first, took a little time to make up my mind so my apologies for taking so long to comment.
Hi Norm - I think this is a tough one because the mist isn't readily apparent. Without your explanation the image looks like a low contrast image shot at too slow a ss. When I think of effective shots with mist, I usually think of images that are wider and show the misty environment more or have clouds of mist visible. Sorry, just my thoughts.
Thanks Gabriela and Rachel. I agree that I haven't brought out the fog as much as I want. Perhaps the best course would be to work for a more contrasty and sharp image, and forget the fog. Nice comments, much appreciated.
Hi Norm, welcome to the Wildlife Forum. yes, this is a tough one as suggested by Gabriela and Rachel above. IMHO, for a misty scene to work, you need to shoot wide to show it. Close up portraits such as this one need exceptional details and sharpness. Loi