Grey Seal missile ...

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi folks a fast head on approach of a seal bull ,that became chased by another bull . I do love that when they come straight at you ......it was time to go low and wait for him .Luckily i was alone at that time ...no volunteer around , otherwise they would have shouted at me to go out of his way . As he might ran over me or even bite me.......... well i had so many seal bulls passed me over the last three years and they never ran over me or bit me. I must have been a lucky guy ...that nothing happened .
Well well ..... To be honest they can be very quick and you have to watch them .....but with a little empathy of their mood and behavior they are quite easy to handle ....at least from my POV and experience .


Canon EOS 1Dx II
EF 500 IS L II
Tripod

F 6,3 ; Iso 6400 ; 1/1600 sec ..... with hindsight a bit faster SS would have been better .

Processed with C1 and PSCC 2018 ; no tricks just plain basic editing. Lighting was difficult as i had dark grey clouds in my back and the bright sky in the seals back .....luckily i did not blow the HL on the seal.

Thanks for watching and commenting to my previous thread

Cheers Andreas

Ps ....great to have larger images to look at , thanks for the decision to make this possible BPN

[Steve Kaluski]

Loving this series Andreas, again the colour palette just works!!! He/She looks like an inflated balloon. Might loose those two highlights under the RH flipper as viewed.

Nice work again, but not a fan of this new size, even on the Eizo colour Edge to Edge monitors.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andreas - What a great head on pov! Interesting to see the darker tones of this seal. It sort of looks beached with the flippers in the air. Perhaps just a little more dof to have the very tip of the nose sharp too. As I said before, I think this trip you had some stellar opportunities and delivered on them.

TFS,
Rachel

P.S. I am still unsure about the new posting size.

[Morkel Erasmus]

A very nice head-on shot here, Andreas!
Missed seeing your photos...
I too have posted at this new size, but think I will revert to 1200 again.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Andreas, there is an article in this months BBC Wildlife magazine concerning researchers and photographers and how they can unwittingly be causing the cow seals stress, it makes for interesting reading. (I do appreciate you do all you can not to cause stress!)
The image just about fits in my 23" Eizo, so if I had a 27" there would be spare space but really I find such a large image at close quarters a little uncomfortable. I obviously don't fully appreciate the value of having such large images close up to my face!
You indicate you wish you had a faster shutter speed, do you think the image looks a little soft at 1920px?
I like the image and I think your title is very apt. Colours and tones look good, noise pretty much non existent to my eye...... but I wonder if the image is a tiny bit soft (probably less so at 1600px or 1200px?)

[Steve Kaluski]

You indicate you wish you had a faster shutter speed, do you think the image looks a little soft at 1920px?

As images (postings) are sharpened to a 'perceptual' appearance/look, it's the RAW that counts as you know, is that 100% sharp? My thinking would be ISO12,800 to gain a bit more SS ie 1/2500 and f/8, WDYT Andreas?

[Glenn Pure]

Missile is what came to my mind when I saw this too. Great work Andreas especially the mastery you've shown in handling the tricky lighting to produce this result. The front-on view is excellent and nice low POV. Lot's to like in this one.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks a big bunch to all of you folks , for your feedback on image and new size of BPN postings. Much appreciated.

Jon & Steve .... i think Steve is right on the money with the techs , with hindsight , would have preferred that combo . For having a little more safety that the image is sharp as it can be. The raw is sharp but not super super sharp , as what this cam / lens combo can deliver .

Rachel; Jon ; Steve .... regarding the posting size , well i am looking at a 31" 4K screen .....the new size does look way better on my screen , than with 1200 px , i bet you understand. But will change back to smaller if most folks think they do appear too large.

It makes me proud that my latest fresh series of the Grey Seals / Harbor Seals are getting that positive feedback , thanks for that folks. I am on a good way of improving my work in the field ....with the given circumstances of mother nature .

Jon -- will look for the article , and tell you what i think about the discussion .

Jon - not thinking it is soft , do not forget the seal is wet no fine details in the fur , just the whiskers and eye lashes are fine detailed . But will take a look again tonight .

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

It makes me proud that my latest fresh series of the Grey Seals / Harbor Seals are getting that positive feedback , thanks for that folks. I am on a good way of improving my work in the field ....with the given circumstances of mother nature .

And so you should be, you put ALL the hard work in, we just sit back and enjoy, occasionally throwing in the odd feedback.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Steve ....mostly not odd ..... Some of it is really helpful

[Steve Kaluski]

'odd'

It was used in a different context, manner... , but agree with your last reply.

[Mike Poole]

The direct stare and having both flippers airborne are what make this shot for me, great 'in your face' perspective, and the eyes certainly look sharp enough for me here

Mike

[John Mack]

Great detail on the seal here. Love the comp and the nice even background. Well done.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Mike and John for your kind comments ..much appreciated .
Cheers Andreas

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

That is some great POV. I love it! Nicely composed and lots of detail. I also like the light strip on the BG at the top.
Well done mate!