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Thread: Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Default Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

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    I was drawn to the woodland area where I heard a stage bellowing, on the way I saw this young stag at the periphery, I liked the way he seemed to be lit against the darker surroundings. His coat is quite dark because it is still rather damp.. and much to my surprise I wasn't!

    Hand held

    Image input equipment model : Olympus E-M1X
    Lens focal length : 300 mm
    Focal length in 35 mm film : 601.0mm
    Exposure mode : Manual exposure
    Photographic Sensitivity : 250
    Exposure bias : 0 EV
    Exposure time : 1/80 sec
    F number : F4.5
    Flash : OFF

    ACR + PSCC

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    I feel I would like a bit more at the foot here Jon, and with the light racking in front I may have thought the BKG to be more darker and FG richer?

    I assume the f-stop in old money is nearer to f/7.1? Irrespective of the 5 stop IS, I still feel 1/80 is a tad light, but your call as you know the kit. If this is FF then I feel the face lacks the form and contours and in parts appears oversharp, but that could be the 'Action' you use. Personally I would have liked you to step a few metres to your right to avoid the treed trunks which I find a little dominating, albeit they add context. However, I don't like the way the lens creates these odd shapes in the BKG, ie the green hump at the foot of the tree trunk.

    Just my take:
    - Back off on Contrast/Clarity and may be the sharpening
    - Reduce the Blue - see nose and tree in your OP
    - Add a bit more richness to the FG and coat as the light would, I think be hitting it? OK I pushed it a little, but you get the idea I hope Jon.

    TFS
    Steve

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    Well look who had caught some deer. These young fellow has a pretty nice coat on him. Like the pose and that direct stare. More room below would be nice.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Steve thanks for the feedback -very useful, the background is as is because I didn't want to introduce the dark patches, I appreciate you envisaged the scene different to as presented - you are right! The slow shutter speed was to get you going - it did!
    The lens is incredibly sharp, perhaps I need rather less sharpening than I usually apply, I also applied Texture probably less or none required. I see where you're going with the colours - too far for me but perhaps I could have added a little more.
    John there may be a little more below I 'll check. No there wasn't!
    here's a repost perhaps a little better:-

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    The slow shutter speed was to get you going - it did!
    As I said Jon, it's your call, but it may one day bite you in the butt.

    I also applied Texture probably less or none required.
    Texture is like Clarity, but works differently, however it's not to enhance 'Texture', it's just another Contrast sharpening tool.

    I see where you're going with the colours - too far for me but perhaps I could have added a little more.
    RP works, it has some life, but needs more below.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    I forgot to mention I went out deliberately with the 300 mm thinking I might appreciate the increased working distance I would have been afforded, these being a bit techy an' all. I should have gone with the 40-150 with 1.4 MC that would have given me 420mm equivalent, there were a lot of missed shots because I was too tight or because I wasn't swift enough changing the position of the focus point. (This would explain the short base on the image.).

    Steve /: SS - I did use multiple speeds - just interested to find out how low as opposed to how high I can go.

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    Hi Jon, nice subject and composition while agreeing to a tab more room below but since you don't have any, it certainly not a deal breaker. The SS issue has been discussed already. How does the kit compare to the Canon?

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    Hey Jon, utterly fascinating read, I agree with more at the base and also something with the sharpening seems slightly off in the first edit . Beautiful detail I'm drawn towards both the later edits feel only you could know the light but personally a definite preference for your second edit over the first

    The SS is amazing. Jon the image sort of puzzled me The pricket is so life like but the bkg seemed somehow strange in the first edit especially,I've not the ability to know the why's thereof but it struck me before really reading anything , Jon . as usual Steve's hawk eye's picked up on it too maybe in a far more educated way than I can .

    Jon you know how tonality decreases..... diminishes with distance in life it's like those tones are maybe too strong in the BKG. I know BKG is shaded mate but wonder if gently calming the tones down might help i see you worked on the hump at base of tree,but somehow it seems more than that to me. Jon, I'm not always able to articulate what i'm seeing terribly well please forgive,obviously you must be trying to get you head around a huge amount I don't even really understand your techs or how DOF applies now. But just as someone that looks at where we live maybe something in post can help with the bkg?? A thought no more


    All the luck with the new toys Jon i love seeing all the deer images appear at this time of year . Cheers for sharing him

    take care

    stu

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Sanjeev, Stu thanks for your comments. The sensor on the Olympus does not have quite the same performance of 1DX II and 5D IV, according to DxO it is not too dissimilar to the 7D II - just a slightly wider dynamic range. I fudged the background because some parts of the shadows were coming out as totally black and I just did not like them. I reduced contrast and colour and structure in an attempt to subdue the background to make it less consequential. It didn't work as well as I hoped, I am sure Steve would have done a much better job. The light that particular morning was quite tricky occasionally very bright and also pockets of really dull dark areas. I 'll review the next submissions before I post. I initially did a double raw conversion and blended them. Image noise is much less of an issue to me now than it was previously.

    I take images with faster shutter speeds too but I also take them with lower ones - for two reasons, 1) the results in terms of colours and noise will be better 2) I get a sense of satisfaction knowing it is possible to pull it off. One shot I am trying to get is that of a dipper in a river with the water smooth and the dipper sharp - difficult but not impossible. I appreciate of course that a faster speed will effectively halt movement but if I can get the shot just when there is a temporary halt in the subjects movement well hey I am a happy bunny!. If I can't well I have to use a faster speed - but it's not the end of the world, I am not going to die in a ditch, I'll get over it and photograph something else -"simples" as Sergey would say.

    The lenses and cameras are weather proof, you can soak them and freeze them you can get them hot and they still work, after a hard dirty day's work some people simply rinse their camera under the tap - no kidding! The lenses are incredibly sharp, my perception is they are definitely sharper than Canon lenses. It is quite surprising how many people have switched to Olympus, most people think it is not capable of being a professional camera because it is so small and light. I have the OMD E M1X, that is the larger body with twin grips - similar design to the 1DX but the OMD E M1 II is a single grip camera it does most of the things the former does and is a an awful lot cheaper - and lighter again.

    So the Olympus for me is just fun it is liberating, the Canon had been the same sort of camera it always had been, solid, reliable , big, bulky, heavy, but quite frankly it was becoming a little bit repetitive and dull, I had been doing the same thing since the eighties. With Olympus I can play with image stacking in cameras, make neutral density images in camera and also take high res images up to 80 megapixels. The need for a tripod has almost gone, the camera is designed for hand holding, I use the tripod for high res/stacked/neutral density images if the shutter speed is going to be low and the subject static, having said that I did some ND images of waterfalls hand held and they are just fine. The camera can't do some things the Canon can do but by comparison Olympus is portable quick and convenient just point and shoot the Olympus and provided you set it correctly it will deliver. I am still working on new (for me) processing algorithms to overcome the less tolerant sensor compared to the Canon, for the most part I am contented. It is only when you have one of these cameras that you realise it is a totally different working environment, there are not so many constraints but you do have limitations and if you can reconcile the latter ...well it's happy days. .... there is a new lens coming out 2020 a 400mm zoom with in built 1.4TC somewhere arounf f4.5 I think, and it can also be coupled with a 1.4 and 2xTC, and it is hand holdable so that is effectively 1120mm x1.4 = 1568mm and 2240mm respectively.
    Last edited by Jonathan Ashton; 10-22-2019 at 02:11 AM.

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    Jon huge thanks for the reply and with such depth, wonderful reading!! I spent a long time staring at this image last night Jon. I'm sure you'll work all these nuances out with time buddy. I don't even know how long you have had the new tools !! All the luck with it Jon,lovely to have a chat and moreso it will be fun watching you have fun you really seem excited,which after years of doing something can have a huge effect on one's outlook . Hopefully that will manifest its'self i your images The hand holdable aspect of so many mm is mind numbing. WOW


    Many many thanks and naturally all the luck in the world.

    stu

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Hello Jon,

    Sorry for coming in so late here but must say I enjoyed viewing, then reading the comments and looking at RP's. Also, haven't seen many Red Deer images around here so I think it's pretty cool that you shared one with us.
    Do not know much about your new gear so not going to comment on techs, even though they baffle me a bit...Nikon did send me some info and reviews on the Z6 which I believe is quite similar to your Olympus E-1MX, just haven't had the chance to read them properly yet

    I like the pose from the deer and also its positioning within the frame, but do agree with everyone that more room below is needed. Guess you wanted a bit of 'context', or more environment but I am unsure whether those trees in the BG actually add to the image.

    In terms of colours, IMO Steve's RP nails it, love the richness and vibrance on the subject and also the darker BG which helps him stand out more. Also looks more natural in terms of lighting. Sharpening and detail both look good in your RP.

    Glad you are enjoying your new camera and and having fun, experimenting. I guess you cannot wait to buy the 400mm next year!

    Hope we get to see more from you, many thanks for sharing,

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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