Tiger-Scape !

[haseeb badar]

Hello everyone !

Posting a Tiger image after a while . This image is taken at a Tiger reserve near to our city . This is a sub adult who has grown to be quite a character ( will post more of his images in future ) . Here he was chilling out near a lake away from his mother and brother . I loved the colours in the image especially of the vegetation and also the dark shades and reflection in water . Though it was at some distance but The tiger looked absolutely beautiful amongst the lovely settings .

Canon 5D MK III , Canon 500mm f4 IS II with 1.4x T.C. , bean bag .

ss 1/5000 ,f/8, iso 1600
DPP4 CS6 .

All your C&C's are most welcome .

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Haseeb, cool looking Tiger and I like the amount of space all round, it's not frame filling and brings into play the environment, but with the reflection I do feel the only option was to go wide.

The ISO is high producing a SS of 1/5000, which, as the Tiger was static could have easily been reduced, unless you thought he might leap into the water to cool down? The inclusion of the lily at the foot I'm not sure if this helps or not, less see what others say.

I think you could perhaps go a little cooler on the WB, open the overall Exp up by under a third and then add say 8 of saturation. Perhaps darkening the FG water I feel may provide more depth to the image and help the reflection too, but just my take.
Great to see a Tiger again, I just missed out on a week in Ranthambore in May with a good friend and then yesterday an offer of seeing Polar Bear cubs next month, never get the roll of the dice.

TFS
Steve

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Steve !

Here is an RP based on your suggestions , WDYT ?

Yes , a very unpredictable Tiger , One can never anticipate what he will do next hence the high SS .

So when are the tigers on your list ?

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Haseeb - Great look at the tiger in a bit of environment and the reflection is a plus. I prefer the rp. Just watch the blue/cyan creeping into the whites on the tiger. My first thought before reading Steve's comment was also that the lily lower left has to go.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Haseeb I think it's better, but try using perhaps a hint of Clarity i.e. 7, and a little Vibrance too, I would just explore the sliders, as I feel it's so close you just need a bit more oomph in there, but that is just my take.

Steve

[haseeb badar]

Thank you Rachel and Steve !

@Steve -- Looks much better now thanks for the RP .

[Steve Kaluski]

As I said Haseeb, you have it ALL there, it's just applying some additional teaks with the sliders to achieve the desired look & feel, you did all the hard work in getting the capture, now it's just refining the image.

[haseeb badar]

I feel many a times that things were done pretty nicely in the field but PP part is where i fail to do justice to the image . Those additional tweaks is where i fail to analyse as to what adjustments are needed . Hopefully will get that knack also .

[Mike Poole]

I like what you've done in the RP, brings in the colours very nicely. I like to see some environment in the short whenever possible, and given the choice I'd have preferred this shot to have a bit less water i the frame, with more above the Tiger. Very easy to say after the shoot know!

Still a very nice image though.

Mike

[keith mitchell]

Haseeb think what you say about the things you achieve in the field is very true, your repost really does show off this magnificent animal and it's reflection very well, must have been a thrill getting it.

Keith.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Haseeb thank you for posting this frame ..... you should know why . Not long to wait ... already very excited what to expect ......

Lovely frame and i love the base image , would not change the crop in general , but can also see a slightly tighter version with more concentration on the tiger .
Your RP is better than OP , Steve has taken it up another notch with his RP but i would go not that far as he did , just a matter of taste for sure .

Lovely image ,Haseeb , TFS Andreas

[Morkel Erasmus]

A really nice image here Haseeb. Love the reflection and the hues/colours of the surrounding foliage.
I would crop from the bottom to clear up the clutter (lily and the gunk on the water).
Your OP lacked some "oomph" (contrast and clarity) which I think Steve's repost addressed.

[Stuart Philpott]

Haseeb,this is spendid,I really like animals set in their habitat anyway but a tiger with full reflection is something i can only dream of taking. I appreciate your comments about how hard these fine details in post are to assimilate,but you are getting such stunning images in the field I admire so much. i'd like a bit off the bottom aswell as the oof liilies I do find a slight distraction,but this is so minor to me on an image like this. Just lovely mate can't wait to see more of him. Thanks for sharing, the ensuing debates and comments from everyone, and of course can't wait for more. Inspiring stuff Haseeb well done. Can I ask what your point of view was at capture please where were you relative to the ground?

take care

Stu

[haseeb badar]

Thank you everyone !

@ Stu - the tiger was near a small lake at some distance and we were in a vehicle at a considerable height from the water-body hence not an eye level angle !