African Elephant (detail)

[Glenn Pure]

I have seen this type of shot done before so it is not original. But I like this effect and hope it provides a bit of (semi-abstract) variety and interest for you. The textures are really fascinating to me and those huge eyelashes. The animal is part of a herd of orphaned elephants that feed and roam freely in Victoria Falls National Park next to the lodge where we stayed (Elephant Camp). This herd is quite tame and can be hand fed - which we did under the supervision of their guardians/handlers. This is full frame except for a slice I've taken on the right to remove any background. BTW, I don't think these qualify as 'Captive' since they are free roaming in the national park most of the time and feed themselves.

Technical: Canon 80D with Lens EF-S 18-135mm STM at 50 mm handheld. Manual exposure 1/250, f9, ISO 800. Processed in Canon DPP 4 (digital lens optimiser @ 50, Sharpness = 3, crop, lighting adjustments, default NR) then exported 16 bit TIFF to Photoshop Elements and Nik Silver Effects Pro plug-in where B&W conversion and toning performed. Sharpened (sharpness function: remove Gaussian blur, radius = 0.4 pixels, 50%) after final size reduction.

[Mike Poole]

Its immediately apparent what the subject is here, so the abstract nature of the shot works fine. As you say, the textures are fascinating. Not my area of expertise by a long shot, but maybe a little extra midtone contrast would help here?

Mike

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Glenn - I've done several shots like this myself so I am a fan. Love the lashes. I think the abstract/artsy nature of the image allows one to go a bit further than they might normally do. I think you can bring out even more texture and detail. Don't be afraid to apply a bit more contrast selectively to areas to bring it out. I did this rp very quickly just to give you an idea.

TFS,
Rachel

[Glenn Pure]

Thanks Mike and Rachel. From memory I boosted detail over contrast. Your repost looks good Rachel and I note Mike is suggesting something similar but my personal taste is for the more subtle look of the OP - the deeper shadows in the RP actually draw my eye away from the texture in the skin which I really like on this animal/frame.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Glenn -- I too have tried these kind of shots and really like the results . You have done quite well with it , nice tones and textures in the subject. Rachel's RP has taken up this a notch. Glad you posted this , nice image indeed.

TFS !

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Glenn, a nice image with good conversion. The detail is there and the sharpness is there in good measure.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Glenn,
I really like your image and those long lashes are stunning. It would make a lovely print, well processed and the conversion is great

I do agree with Rachel on pushing things a little...

Have a wonderful rest of the week and I do hope you share more images,

Kind regards,

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Glenn this is a nice overall texture image ...love all that wrinkles and the good amount of detail.
Comp works well ...
Conversion and toning ...very nice from my POV
Rachel has introduced some very nice 3D illusion ....taking this up a notch !!! Good job Rachel

TFS Andreas

[Glenn Pure]

Thank you Haseeb, Sanjeev, Gabriela and Andreas. It seems I'm out-voted on the less contrasty rendering in my OP. As I mentioned earlier though, I still prefer the OP as I'm emphasising the skin texture in this shot and I feel the added contrast draws attention to the large wrinkles and away from the skin texture. But I do value the feedback all the same. Interesting how we all see images differently, especially toned/monochrome images which are a degree of abstraction away from the original subject. Much easier to critique a colour image!