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Thread: Something a Little Different

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Default Something a Little Different

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    So we spent quite some time sitting in the middle of a herd of elephants one morning. It allowed me time to experiment a bit and I particularly liked the way the light illuminated this elephant's tail against the dark bg.

    Canon 7D2
    100-400 II @ 255mm
    1/1600
    f7.1
    ISO 800
    HH from safari vehicle, shot vertical, slight crop for comp, levels, curves, sharpened in CCPS.

    C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

    Rachel

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    Rachel I like your thinking with this shot,only thing that draws my eye a little bit are the folds of skin on the top left which I wonder if it would be possible to darken a bit,I'm ok with the rest of the skin which I don't think distracts so much.

    Keith.

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    I like the idea of trying something different and I commend people trying new things....Nicely done

    My issues are the part of the Elephants rear end on the left hand side and upper left corner. I feel that should have been removed leaving only the tail. Also when it comes to shots like this I feel a very creamy smooth BG works better than one with quite a bit of texture. Although you did a great job getting it darker and the tail still pops nicely a just feel a very clean BG like for example my Leopard post a few days back works better.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, I think moving a fraction more to your left would have isolated the tail more (so there was no hint of body) and so agree, just having the tail with the dark BKG would have been more interesting I personally feel. This would then be a bit more thought proving to the viewer??

    I wonder if my Rhino tail (not posted) lodged in the old memory banks a while back??

    TFS
    Steve

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks guys. I may have some without any of the rest of the ele in it. I thought this gave it context. I can look at going darker on the bg. Steve, sorry, like lots of other people, I've taken tail shots on many of my trips. This was the first one that I remember with the key lighting so thought that elevated it over a normal tail image and decided to share it.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Hi Rachel -- Always good to see different concepts but i too am in agreement with the above , the rear end and the BG are not quite ideal for this particular image , didn't quite worked for me , Sorry .

    TFS !

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    It works for me, it looks natural and I feel the rear leg doesn't just leave a piece of tail dangling from nowhere - if you see what I mean. Nice to see something a little different.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Haseeb and Jon. Jon - your thoughts were similar to mine. Leaving the bit of elephant leg identified the subject for the average person.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Rachel this is interesting reading the other comments above,there are some good points raised I do think Jon and yourself have a good one.

    Keith.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks all. Here's another image from the sequence which actually did not have any of the leg. I then completely blackened the bg in pp. This may take it to more of OOTB but I thought I would share it based on the comments.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Rachel, I reckon right first time

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    Prefer the first one Rachel,but would still like to see it with the top left just a little darker,it's real interesting and good how we all see things differently.

    Keith.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Dearest Rachel,

    A very interesting exercise, and I have been trying to decide which works best, your first or second post. This has been a bit of an eye opener in terms of the power of art! Been wondering, which image communicates better? My answer is: the first one, because it offers some much needed context for the viewer. Just a mere suggestion, how about darkening the BG more or less like in the second post, allowing for just a tad of the ellie rear to show?

    I wish to thank you for sharing this image, it made me want to go to my Park tomorrow and take photographs of whatever I see. I never carry rigid ideas of what I am about to witness and the pleasure I derive form my Sunday trips is immense. I just need a nudge every now and then, a reassurance - call it motivation - that there'll be something interesting to capture in this old place I have been visiting for over two decades. I must just keep on looking.

    Hope you have a wonderful week-end, I thank you so much for sharing,

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Keith and Gabriela. Gabriela - You should definitely experiment more with the content of your images. Especially living in Africa in close proximity to a park which you can visit regularly, the pressure to get the more standard shots isn't there because you know you'll have other opportunities. If I were you, I would experiment a bit more with comp, content and things like blurs and backlighting.


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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you Rachel,

    I will certainly keep your suggestion in mind:) The last time I tried to experiment with ellie images they got too close for comfort, in fact I had an ellie mama brush her trunk against the roof of my vehicle and sniffle at me through the open window.
    Back to your image, I still think the OP has a kind of " theatrical appeal" to it, and it really grabs me

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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