De-bugging a Buffalo!

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This buff looked totally 'bugged' with the red-billed oxpeckers that were trying to de-bug him :-) Would love to learn more on toning & try Steve's suggestion to add some colour back after conversion but am lost how to do it. So here is a simple B&W version. Converted in DPP & then in PS.
7D II
100-400 II
1/800
f/7.1
ISO 800

[Glenn Pure]

Nicely rendered result, Sanjeev with a well-handled tonal range and treatment IMHO. I know how I would add colour in the way Steve has done but best to leave it to him to explain what he did. All the same, I think this conversion has worked well and the oxpeckers and closed eyes on the buffalo and slight poke of tongue add a nice story as do the flies buzzing around it. I gather you have not added any colour toning to this conversion (at least it doesn't look that way to me). That's one of many interpretations that I think could be applied here and it is fine as far as I'm concerned. But if you do have a further play, please repost. Always interesting to see how others do these interpretations.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - A fun image of a scene that plays out often every day. I don't know how the buffalos stand either the flies or the oxpeckers. I'll leave it to Steve to explain his technique for adding some color toning. I tend to use NIK Silver Efex for conversions these days but like playing around with Control Points rather than the presets. You can also then apply the effects in layers and adjust the opacity. Here I wanted a bit more texture and detail on the buff so I used a mask to apply "Structure" to the buff. WDYT?

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sanjeev, these animals, like Elephants & Rhino are great subjects to work with because they have texture & detail and so going B/W here certainly brings out a bit more from the capture compared to Colour. I personally feel you are almost there, you just need to perhaps up the image with some High Contrast to gain hopefully more division in the B/W tonal range. Also some more selective sharpening also helps too IMHO.

How about something like this??

TFS
Steve

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thanks Glenn, Rachel & Steve. Both the RP's have enhanced the image and agree on contrast & sharpness.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Sanjeev,

Been wondering whether the expression on this Buffalo's face is one of great enjoyment, or is it despair? From Nature POV, those oxpeckers constantly removing parasites from animals are truly a blessing. At the same time, having something - or someone - pecking at your eyes and hanging onto your ears can be pretty annoying, right?

So a puzzled expression from this Dagga boy that leaves me looking for answers, well seen and captured, great timing, well framed and I like the content. Love the detail in Rachel and Steve's reposts.

You should be pleased with this - I certainly enjoyed viewing and your frame kept me glued to the screen for some time, more images please

Kind regards,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Sanjeev -- A fun image indeed , and the conversion is also looking quite nice. Rp's from Rachel and Steve has taken this up a notch and like Steve said these are great subjects for conversion . Nicely done and TFS !