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Thread: Plains Zebras

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    Default Plains Zebras

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    To my surprise, the IUCN lists these as 'Near Threatened'. The reason: population in decline even though numbers are still good. We saw lots and lots of zebra in Etosha National Park, Namibia which is where this shot was taken. It was in late afternoon light and backlit as you can see, making it a bit of a challenge to interpret in post processing. I liked the dust the animals were kicking up which adds atmosphere to the scene. I've kept some warmth in the light. Shadows lifted on the two in-focus zebras to help them stand out a little more. I did try a B&W conversion on this one but that simply removed the warm colour as the image is near monochrome now. So I've left this in colour. The crop is almost full frame (a little of the right and bottom).

    As usual, I thank you for taking a look and any comments you may wish to provide.

    Technical: Canon 80D with Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 263mm handheld. Manual exposure 1/5000, f7.1, ISO 800 (under-exposed by 1 EV so raised in PP). Processed in Canon DPP 4 (digital lens optimiser @ 50, Sharpness = 3, crop, lighting adjustments, default NR) then exported 16 bit TIFF to Photoshop Elements with Neat Image NR plugin where modest NR applied to zebras and stronger NR to background. Sharpened (sharpness function: remove Gaussian blur, radius = 0.4 pixels, 50%) after final size reduction.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Glenn - I like the backlighting and kicked up dust and atmospheric feel to this. I wish the front zebra was not intersecting any in the bg. I realize you framed this way to include the foal in the bg but it feels a little awkward. I want more room in front for the zebras to walk into. The sky isn't doing anything for me so I might look at a more pano crop cutting about half of it. I also didn't realize that zebras are listed as Near Threatened. Hard to imagine when you see the herds in places like Etosha, the Mara and Serengeti.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Very nice atmospheric shot Glenn, I agree exactly with Rachel's observations.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Hi Glenn, how about going 16x9 (Rule of Thirds) and then getting some more tonal depth and separation back in the image?

    TFS
    Steve

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    Thank you Rachel, Jonathan and Steve, and for the repost Steve. I had played with increasing the tone in the foreground but decided against it to increase the separation between the foreground zebras and the rest of the shot. Perhaps I should rethink and maybe go somewhere between the two versions? Point taken about the sky and composition. In my original, the foreground zebras were roughly on the 'thirds' line, not the sky. Now it is the other way. I think the pano crop works well too but don't have a strong preference for it.

    As for more room on the left, agree that would be good but this scene was unfolding quite quickly and wasn't a carefully composed shot, as Rachel suggested - but thank you for suggesting I was that organised! The zebras were galloping past a moment before (hence the dust). I could see the potential here and grabbed what I could. I really wanted the galloping zebras but missed it. Another of those many cases of 'the one that got away', for me at least.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Steve's repost is about right comp wise but I like the faded colors in the OP.
    Dan Kearl

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Glen a gorgeous Etosha scene ....!!! I gonna love that place .
    I like the two in front in focus and nice tone ... drawing the eye . The rest is nicely separated and the eye can wonder into the BG .
    I think Steve has done a good job for taking the image up a notch , crop is where it needs to be ....well the tone is a matter of taste , but i like it .
    BTW not a good idea from my POV ...underexposing and then lifting in post , unless it happened by mistake and i really want to recover the shot . But if it is planned shot ....no go for me .

    TFS Andreas

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    BTW not a good idea from my POV ...underexposing and then lifting in post
    100% agree, you will highlight any noise in the shadows. Glenn you want to shoot ETTR constantly, irrespective of the scene.

    Imagine this:

    Take a cup and fill it with water half full, that is your 0 EV starting point. Now, fill the cup up to the brim before it over flows (before you start to get blinkies, blowing the Highlights) that is your 'going right on he Histogram' see how much more data you gain and that is your main aim - maximise your data.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski View Post
    100% agree, you will highlight any noise in the shadows. Glenn you want to shoot ETTR constantly, irrespective of the scene.
    Thanks Steve, Dan and Andreas. I agree ETTR is the way to go and should have been what I did here - that's why I mentioned I'd underexposed this (admitting a bungle on my part). At ISO 800 on that camera, not a big deal though and the noise was quite manageable. One of the curses of manual exposure, which I switched to about a year ago, is that unless I'm constantly checking it, I will get it wrong sometimes. Sometimes on these safari outings, a lot can be going on and I can be swinging around from one side of the vehicle to another or having our guide make a hasty stop for a photo. Stuff ups are almost inevitable for me in those circumstances... that's my excuse anyway

    Here's a reworked version with a bit more saturation and a crop like Steve's RP.
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    Hello I like the situation and the kind of the shoots..it is no usual and give a good idea of the situation ; could be ok try to reduce the space up and under to give more attention on zebrs

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