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Thread: Defiance of A Shade Shrouded Rhino

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Default Defiance of A Shade Shrouded Rhino

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    It was close to six pm. A rhino mother and calf had their drink but were still lingering by the small waterhole. Light was fading fast. The eyesight of this species is rather poor so it must have been their acute sense of smell that helped my subjects anticipate the arrival of a male lion. The rhino mother stiffened up and raised her head in defiance as the lion entered the scene. Her young decided to seek protection behind her. This is not unusual behaviour and my guess is, had it not been for the little one the adult would have probably carried on browsing.

    They are so bold, so beautiful and so unfazed by predators, our rhino. And it is usually not lions or hyenas but humans, who are responsible for their rapidly decreasing numbers.

    Nikon D4
    Nikon 500 F4
    ISO 1250
    F8
    1/1000s
    -0.7EV

    I am sharing this for a few reasons: 1. I think the situation is somehow interesting in terms of behaviour 2. I quite like that bit of golden light and the way it touches Mom rhino, highlighting her defiant pose and that awesome horn.

    I experimented a bit during PP work with this frame I initially thought should go to the bin: it had some vegetation in the FG which I did not quite like and some tree branches on the RHS. The legs of the subjects were not fully visible. I'd say this is a 30% crop. Eliminated a few distracting elements like small rocks and of course those branches I mentioned above. Dropped exposure to create a more dramatic feel to the scene. I tried to maintain as much detail as possible in the shadowed areas. I do expect some of you to question the colour of the rhino but please know I allowed a certain "tinge" because that is what it looked like to me at the time of shooting and I liked it. Personal choice and you are welcome to say you do not like it, as well as do an RP - I welcome all your suggestions and critique.

    Thank you so much for viewing, I appreciate it. Hope you all have a wonderful week-end:)
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Hi Gabriela,
    The image is indeed very unique with nice behaviour and pose from the two. I love that golden light hitting the adults face and it helps highlight the alertness and emphasises those horns. Nice techs and scene. TFS.
    Regards,
    Sanjeev

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    Hi Gabriela -- I dint know why but seeing the thumbnail it appeared to me that it is a warthog image.Coming back to the image , i liked the low POV and that golden light , wish it was hitting the face some more up to the eye but i love to see Rhino images they are special creatures . Not sure about the little one running away but reading your intro it makes perfect sense .

    Were you lying flat on the ground amidst the presence of a Lion and Rhino ? isn't that risky ?

    TFS !

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thanks so much Sanjeev and Hasseb!

    Haseeb, I never lie flat on the ground in the presence of either lion or rhino, LOL. I did lie flat on the 3rd seat in the game viewer though. And then slipped between the seats for a better POV.

    The little rhino did not actually run away, he sat close to mom and kept a vigilant eye in the other direction. Perhaps he was getting ready to run if the situation required, don't know. But the lion was not interested in them, he had another agenda. He walked in as if he owned the place, tail swishing and a spring in his step. He was looking for his female and three cubs I think...

    I really appreciate your comments, be it technical or otherwise. Hope you have an awesome week-end!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Great techs here Gabriela. Just typical back to back white rhino behaviour when something "suspect" is around. Nice low angle achieved with the long lens and although it does not not detract too much it may have been better to stay up to get more of legs in frame. Also like the way you have dealt with the foreground suff.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela - Love the light illuminating the horn and yes, it would have taken this up a notch to have it hitting more of the face. The mud covered texture is really nice too. Carl makes a good point of shooting a little higher to avoid the to avoid a busy fg or lots of brush. I did that with wild dog den and it helped to some extent. While your intro setting the scene of the lion approaching explains the youngster's behavior as a stand alone image, I would prefer to have the youngster facing the camera rather than the other way. Btw when you say a 30% crop do you mean it is 70% of original or 30% of original frame? Either way the IQ is fine at this size though I suspect it is the former rather than the latter.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela , this works for me as presented !!!
    Lovely low POV and the tones do look very nice , likewise the colors .
    Wonder why you do not use the whole tonal potential of the image .... as there is a big gap in the histogram to the RHS ?

    I hope to join you in sept with Carl

    TFS Andreas

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you so much Carl and Rachel:)

    I chose this particular frame because of the interest pertaining to the behaviour aspect, but I assure you there's much more in those folders - I will share one specially for you, Rachel! Perhaps Andre or Carl might post some of theirs in the meantime, but should they fail to do so I will soon post a few that'll please you I think:) I honestly don't remember what I thought at the time and why I did not get up to have those feet in, I can only assume I wanted that low POV more than anything else. Or I just did not notice the feet, LOL.

    Rachel, sorry, I meant to say I cropped out 30% of the original image, so the posted version is 70% of the original.

    Have a wonderful week-end, my warmest regards to you both,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Sorry Andreas, I was probably typing my reply while you were posting your crit:) Show me an RP when you have time Boetie, let me see what can be done. If I like it I will use it when I process the next, much appreciated

    Off to the garden now, we are going to have a little braai, thinking of you, we wish you were here
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela - We've all been there where we are so intent on the sighting, getting the techs right and a low pov that we don't realize there is a distraction. Thanks for the clarification on the crop. Enjoy the braai.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    I think you're absolutely right, Rachel! Painful to admit it sometimes LOL, but I am learning from my mistakes with each and every post. BPN has taught me so much...So thanks everyone for your input, critiques, RP's, PM's and emails, without you I would still wang the sliders to the extreme and apply some awful pink frames to my images

    Braai was delicious, I am now on my way to the feathers... Tomorrow is another day, hopefully a few drops rain to quench the thirst of my dying trees and plants in the garden...How crazy this is, the Kalahari got some 300 mm or rain and us here in Kwazulu Natal are experiencing the worst draught ever?

    Gentle sleep, dear friends
    Gabriela Plesea

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    These animals must be as close to prehistoric as you can get,think the mucky muddy look adds a lot to it.I don't mind the bum end, if you will excuse the way I put it of the young one.Great Atmosphere you have caught here Gabriela.

    Keith.

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    Cor I love this one Gabrieala,mind I'm a softy for mum and kids anyway. Is there an in joke I've missed regarding pink tinges??? what's a braii??

    Ok first up cheers for the education on Rhino behaviours fascinating for me truly so,I have a huge soft spot for Rhino,I won't digress!! I so hope something can be done to stop this horrendous decline in numbers,they have to stop the market . The world will be a poorer place without them unthinkable for me!1


    Your image: I adore that light and the way it is catching both. Gaby (is that ok I am struggling with your name and spelling on a huge level actually I'm struggling with letters full stop today lol)) For me the light hitting the eye isn't as important as the ears. Maybe that is a weird statement,but they "see" though those ears and that sense of smell, so for me the light catching those gives me something of their alertness to the situation unfolding,that you have described.

    Junior facing away is not a problem for me,I actually like this defensive strategem it means much to me after watching these deer(thanks for that post mate!!) I also love the way he is leaning on mum for reassurance. The mud also adds for me . I'm blown away by the lighting here Gaby the way it wraps around the guys and even picks up that front foot is just beautiful. Gaby I'm not sure if that one lone sprig by mums foot bothers me I dunno I'm surprised I've picked up on it,mind I've spent a while admiring this one,I love it. Colour pallette works for me on my little monitor,,but is that what the pink tinge ref is about? I surely picked up on it,but it's feels right to my eye. Ha, I've not been to africa so this is all gut driven.
    This for me is utterly breath taking mate, I'm not being nice in saying that, tis from the heart mate, just lovely !!
    Gaby, i'm mad dash, so hopefully we can get out soon it's glorious here have an amazing day

    take care

    Stu

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you Keith and Stu, appreciate it.

    Stu, regarding "pink": before I joined BPN I used to push the sliders in LR and PS to the extreme and added colourful frames to my images. That was less than three years ago:)

    Hope you both have a wonderful day,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    To 'coin' the old phrase and perhaps now overused here - 'a bit late to the party here!'

    Cracking light (Golden hour indeed), great depth too, my only thought would be to level the ground, but then do you run the risk of not enough image contents below as per Andre's lion image, creating a difficult comp? The blacks a slightly clipped, but agree on the Whites could go up.

    Have enjoyed both recent postings well done.

    TFS
    Steve

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you so much Steve:)

    I wanted a certain look and feel to this, a "dark and sombre mood but with a ray of hope". Tried to use light and darkness to allude to the rhino situation.

    I am very fond of a number of frames from this sighting and they are well exposed (what you see here is my own doing in PP). Perhaps when you have time I could send you one or two for some pointers?

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Perhaps when you have time I could send you one or two for some pointers?
    You have 2 days before I head back up, so fire off a few if you wish.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Fired Many thanks Steve.
    Gabriela Plesea

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