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Thread: Steppin' out Brown hare UK L europeas

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    Icon1 Steppin' out Brown hare UK L europeas

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    This is probably the youngest leveret i've made an image of. It was a long ol day and this was at the end of it around 8 :45 pm

    We had pitched at a little spot by some maize on our low chairs and settled to wait. I then close the distance to a subject if and when one arrives. There is a rough area largely weeds but not high with a shallow roll away downhill into a gentle wolds valley . It's a pretty spot to make an image We already had some fantastic times with roe muntjac and hares here. Very slowly pennies are starting to drop as to how I can utilise the contours of the land to make an image when flat on one's face in the mud. This time of year being very low POV wise.... with smallish subjects ,the veggies are also problematic. i'm sort of trying to pick a spot not only where I think a beastie might be but also a spot that might lend itself to an attractive frame. whether all this will have any result I don't know,but the thought process is good.


    This image hurt to make physically, it was one of those out in the open stalks no cover . Hmm where the cotswold scree scapes ya bones removes skin and three days late one still aches . I have to be honest( it almost hurts to admit this but it's true) I nearly didn't try. I debated with my lady we both knew it was going to be incredibly tricky as fella was a bit jumpy to say the least. ,so it's playing that game of never appearing as a threat being utterly on it with movement and so slow one can hear the plants grow

    Little fella had settled and was tiny,it would fit on my outstretched hand..... so rather reluctantly I pulled me self together and made say 100 of the 150 yards I needed towards him/her. A few grab/ record shots resulted in interest.... a few more and bless very slowly he came towards me. I'd already had a good day with an older kidlet,my first attempt at this fella scuppered by a helecopter. So, I took a chance and got very lucky, it was a shame this didn't happen earlier the light was gorgeous.

    Fella's camo is astounding in the field incredibly difficult to stop once your eye was off him,even if you knew were he was a few seconds back !! It really is unbelievable just how much those legs and snout are going to lengthen

    The image is not cropped
    processed in cannons DPP WB colour gentle nr dust bunnies then a further selective NR and sharpening on separate layers in PSCC . There might be some room for tonal improvement I'm wary of separating him too much because of what we both saw.

    1/1000 f5.6 iso 3200 Canon 1Dxii 400DO is II ext 1.4iii

    There might have been an issue at the export as stage in PSCC if any of you educated souls spot anything could you please make me aware

    Finally thanks for all the comments and as always heaps of wisdom bestowed. Steve cheers for checking the base things for me,i'll always be fallable

    Gabriela this fella is for you, I just know you'll fall in love with him I just wish I had that light from earlier to work with

    stu

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    Hi Stu, great field crack to get this and very much enjoyed reading about it. Sounds like a tough subject to approach, to say the least! I suspect the ground really was on a slight incline, but I still might be tempted to level the frame. Detail on the face looks good, although a bit a motion blur on the foot, which I don't really mind anyhow. I'm a bit 50/50 on the greenery at the top, I think I would crop it out, especially if you do choose to rotate the frame. Great look at the eye, and like the catchlight. TFS, very nice frame and must be great to get so close,

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Stu, challenging times, but a nice result.

    I like the framing as both FG & FB almost 'sandwich' the subject creating some lovely standout/separation, so DoF is perfect and being side on just works. The 'bounding' action is neat, but you did need a faster SS, remember, your eyes are seeing/working at a greater ISO and speed so you need to input that.

    here might be some room for tonal improvement I'm wary of separating him too much because of what we both saw.
    I think there is, but you were there, will ping something over... It's just bringing a bit more standout to the subject I think, however your knowledge may say it's too much.

    Think you may need to think about investing in a 2x Stu and avoid hefty crops and loss of IQ.

    Nice to have subjects like this being posted Stu.

    TFS
    Steve

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Dear Stu,

    You are absolutely right, I fell in love with the little fella' as soon as I opened the thumbnail He is adorable! And so tiny! Well camouflaged indeed...

    Framing is great and I like your PP work here, nice and sensible, albeit image looks a tad underexposed. Good thinking on DoF. A little more SS next time please, if our little chap is running we need at least 1/2500s

    Apart from tonality I think you can extract a bit more detail on the subject Stu, looking forward to see an RP with a little help from Steve

    Stunning capture, I am loving it. Enjoyed viewing, thank you so much for sharing!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Stu what a lovely frame , love the low POV and the overall brownish color palette of subject and surroundings . It does reflect very well your descriptions ....
    I do have no issue with the hare running uphill , if it was the case a the location .
    Depending on how the conditions has been , i might stick to this exposure . But i can also see a slightly lighter version .
    Thanks for the story around the image ...a good read .

    TFS Andreas

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    Nice view of this little one. Really like that out of focus foreground and background. Makes the hare really stand out. Composition is nice with plenty of room for the hare to run into.

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    Hey guys thanks for the thoughts very kind.

    Gabriela I knew you 'ld love him so so small.............. You ought to have seen him taring the place up. It must be one of the best sights in the natural world watching a baby hare realise it can run like the wind, also hilarious !! I've no idea how to translate that into an image one to strive for. Agreed on SS,fella is walking no speed but yes I'm comfy at double the iso OPPS I get too besotted with them at the very moment I should have my thinking cap on!!

    Steve I have the 2X ext iii The image is not a CROP!!!!!!!!!!! Steve I tried to point it out on a separate line you are missing this. It's only important because if there is a question mark over IQ which I think there might be. Simply , If you think this is a hefty crop then something must be wrong,seems logical huh??

    I agree on SS. Steve may I ping ya another RAW please?? But bare with me a day or two.

    Steve I haven't got a carrot suit..... but for some completely unknown reason these flightly animals every now and then come wondering up to me they know I'm there,it mystifies me ??????? By far my biggest issue at the moment is being over gunned ie not using the bare lens when I really should be.

    It's a confidence thing I think mate ,ya know......................." oh I'm going to have several hares come wondering up to me today so close I can barely frame" it's not really believable is it. or several roe deer for that matter. So I wack on an EXT when I need that stop of light and don't need 560mm. Naturally if I'm brave and just have 400mm then everything just runs away

    Steve this is a lovely lovely subject to post I have many many hare images now. One this small taken from a low POV a chance i've never ever had before . I think the IQ is not quite good enough and that's why you think I've cropped. I very rarely crop Steve maybe tops and bottoms in portrait. But I am going to need to learn how to extend a canvas properly.

    Alex I honestly don't know,It's addictive for sure,,, but i've never heard it called field crack before sorry buddy !! Yes it was on an incline both towards me and left to right fella is running uphill .It's bewildering getting these chances Alex having them approach and especially this tiny one they should run?? That ground is brutal and tough,I actually came home and found some camo elbow forearm protectors on line , I need to dig further,but I might invest they are used in paint ball games !1

    John Andreas thanks both

    stu

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart Philpott View Post
    Alex I honestly don't know,It's addictive for sure,,, but i've never heard it called field crack before sorry buddy !! Yes it was on an incline both towards me and left to right fella is running uphill .It's bewildering getting these chances Alex having them approach and especially this tiny one they should run?? That ground is brutal and tough,I actually came home and found some camo elbow forearm protectors on line , I need to dig further,but I might invest they are used in paint ball games !1
    Hah! Got a laugh out of that . Sounds like a great experience with them, but tough terrain to approach on. I've been debating getting some knee and elbow pads recently as well, probably a good idea in the long run

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Steve I have the 2X ext iii The image is not a CROP!!!!!!!!!!! Steve I tried to point it out on a separate line you are missing this. It's only important because if there is a question mark over IQ which I think there might be. Simply , If you think this is a hefty crop then something must be wrong,seems logical huh??
    OK Stu, my apologies in missing this, probably due to reading too fast, or sometimes I just don’t always get the replies and so miss it. IQ - it could be a multitude of reasons and again, we have to make assumptions based on what we see, rather than having the beauty of the Raw to hand. Ultimately you are aiming to frame the subject in camera with some latitude all round for that final composition crop. I cannot remember who I had a dialog with, but they could not understand that cropping portrait to landscape or vice versa is just a non starter, so it's paramount to get the format correct at point of shooting. Yes, with more px's it allows more alitude, but having more px's isn't always best.

    So, if this is almost or FF fine, no need for the 2x. If however you did pop it on straight away you are at f/8 so ISO will need to increase to retain SS.

    Now, back to the shot, yes it’s moving so providing ISO doesn’t massively increase then I would go to a minimum of 1/1600, 1/2000 because these little critters move relatively fast.

    Cases would then be change too facilitate the action, Tracking would be constant as it’s moving L to R, rather than coming to you, but your Accel/Decel would need to take into account erratic movement so you need to adjust that for the camera's AF. What was the AF point set to, I bet Single spot AF, wrong Stu, it’s too small an area. If it is, park this, only use it if say the eye is only visible in thick vegetation, or you are ultra close shooting detail. Think about the framing, subject will need more space to the RHS, so put the AF to the RHS, within reason, but so you have the body in frame with space on the LHS, FP on the head and room for the subject to run into, if that makes sense? Therefore, as it’s side on to the sensor (lucky, but good) you should be thinking more AF expansion, or AF point expansion surrounding points, more area to lock onto. Also think about where you place it and make sure you are avoiding vegetation etc so that the camera may wrongly lock onto - just remember how AF works.


    I agree on SS. Steve may I ping ya another RAW please??
    Stu, I need it latest Sat am, as I head back to the other house on Sunday and will only have the laptop, hopefully some better Hares for me, but I need to checkout the Little Owl nest too, fingers crossed.


    Steve I haven't got a carrot suit..... but for some completely unknown reason these flightly animals every now and then come wondering up to me they know I'm there,it mystifies me ???????
    I think perhaps we should name you Mr Dolittle.


    It's a confidence thing I think mate ,ya know......................." oh I'm going to have several hares come wondering up to me today so close I can barely frame" it's not really believable is it. or several roe deer for that matter. So I wack on an EXT when I need that stop of light and don't need 560mm. Naturally if I'm brave and just have 400mm then everything just runs away
    Stu, there is no real ‘miricle lens’ albeit the 100-400 is very good, but the 200-400 is probably the best as it's so versatile, but a fixed lens will always deliver sharpness. Wildlife are a law unto themselves, so all you can do is your best and hopefully predict, but with your knowledge & fieldcraft I think we all expect more from you.


    I very rarely crop Steve maybe tops and bottoms in portrait. But I am going to need to learn how to extend a canvas properly
    Stu, for me that is bad practice and creates for a sloppy image maker. Yes, on occasions perhaps and rather than throwing away a good image, a small extension can help, but to be used 'as a tool and NOT a crutch'. I think some Avian shots are binned because of bad composition, however to retain the shot I have no issues with a recomp, ie same file size, you just move the subject into a better position and in PS it's so easy. If you have a lovely BIF, yet the image is too centred and you are supplying the file as a double page spread, you simply move the subject right or left, but ultimately to the right and no one would know and the bird doesn't disappear into the gutter, sorry centre of the spread.

    Stu, hope this explains my feedback, just my take.

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    Steve my apologies...a fantastic post above ,really thought provoking, I SO wanted to reply sooner!! Mate this is why I haven't been posting much ....you spend so much time trying to push me forwards,I feel I'm being rude not being able to come back sooner

    English ettiquette from an English builder, sort of funny is it not given the brit perception of us as a group

    I really try hard to be exacting in my framing, I'll try and explain my comment about expanding the frame in my next image shown. I feel it is a half decent image and my BIG failing is framing. I don't want to use cropping or adding canvas as a crutch I want to be exact and nail it. But.....

    Buddy I struggle with my framing when these animals come so close, I try to be honest about my failings Steve not only with you but myself,because then one (WE) can address those. I've read through your notes in the "cases" paragraph I understand completely great stuff . It's a skill i'm improving on Steve but I need to be much much better especially close close up.

    I do have close friends whom have referred to me as Dr stulittle,they normally get called something bad in return mind the odd.

    I think you have me on the right track Steve.

    Oh mate ,one little thing you don't ever need to apologise to me All you have ever done is try to help me. Because of the way I write you don't always understand me,that's my failing. But I do need you to understand how close these animals come to me ,because it's throwing up a particular set of problems, like framing for example which I need to improve upon.

    Alex, we looked at HKARMY pads in camo but only briefly . I can't yet figure if they might be noisy in contact with the ground (scree) but otherwise they look good. They protect forearm and elbow,have a dig .

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