Mugger (Crocodylus palustris)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Taken from a boat on the Chambal River, these mugger boys were pretty large but much to my surprise I was told it was the gharial who claimed seniority on the river. This one was warming up in the morning sun, that was why we got close, normally if they are warm they do not allow the boat to approach so closely.
Lighting conditions were either foggy/misty or very bright indeed, the latter prevailed for this image. The crocs are covered in fine sandy dried mud , a pity really but that's nature. (The bird is a black winged stilt).

Camera Olympus E-M1X
Lens focal length : 63 mm
Focal length in 35 mm film : 126.0mm
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
Photographic Sensitivity : 1000
Exposure bias : +0.7 EV
Exposure time : 1/1250 sec
F number : F9
Flash : OFF


ACR + PSCC

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jon ..... this croc seems to be a big one .

Nice clear view to the croc and the free surroundings making this for me ... the stilt is a bit unfortunate , but he was there . Pano format works ... no wonder with such long subject . But i would loose the river bank at the top for a more even BG .
Colors looking ok , but think could be tweaked for more visual impact if one likes . Overall a bit thin IMHO , for sure a matter of taste as always .

Since you have moved to Olympus , i personally think the quality of your images went down a bit in terms of IQ . I hope you do not get me wrong .... Jon .

TFS Andreas

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Andreas, I chose this particular one because I liked the bird!
I think quite honestly some images are not so high quality but I am having more fun. The Canon scene was really enjoyable but it was becoming very very serious, Olympus can do far more in terms of providing amusement and variety, it can deliver high quality and probably higher than I am providing, I have yet to find out an optimal processing regime, it is very different to Canon. I am not going to pretend it will deliver such good results as full frame cameras at higher ISO, it won't. You would probably never want to switch, I am not going to try to persuade you or indeed anyone. So don't worry no offence taken, I switched I am happy, I know I can rely on your honest opinion - that is what I want.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Jon -- Great to see a Mugger and such a big one , sun bathing in the open. The light is not ideal but better than the one available to you as described in your intro. Looks a bit thin to me and details are not quite upto the mark and I can gather why from the above comments.

Liked the bird in the frame, breaks the monotonous feel here .

Is that a river lapwing far far behind ?

TFS !

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Indeed a huge looking mugger, I like the pano crop and the bird is OK with me in the BG. Light and IQ issue apart, a nice shot of this creature on the river bank.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Haseeb, Sanjeev, thanks for the feedback, I quite honestly find this a difficult image to process, part of me wants get more expression into the tones, the other part of me wishes to portray reality. I have lost track of the number of different conversions I have done using LR, ACR and Olympus software! I have read that some people facour DXO Capture one. There is an expression in UK "it is a poor workman who blames his tools", I will endeavour to improve the results I don't blame the camera, the light didn't hep a bit but I think I can improve presentation. If any one wants to have a look at the raw file I will be happy to send it.
The little chap at the back, yes Haseeb it is indeed a river lapwing, I got some pretty decent images of them.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jon i do not mind that you made the move , in the end you must be happy with your chosen kit . If you have more fun with it .... great ... that is what is it all about , as we do not make a living with it ,

AS i told you in the past .... do not jump too much between software , try to master one !!!!!! You will find folks favour this and that .... in the end the output is what counts !!!

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Jon, as you would expect, I'm echoing Andreas's thoughts mainly because I'm still accessing the laptop. If you could, I would have hung out over the side of the boat with the lightweight kit inches above the water to get a better, lower POV. A killer with the 500 I found in Svalbard, with with your, a breeze.

The bird isn't adding much for me, probably more distracting, plus it's slight OOF, being more OOF might have been better??????? F/9 I'm guessing in real money f/13, if so working back from f/11 would have been OK. I would add some NR, at a 1000 you shouldn't need it, but the FG appears a little coarse, but that could be the screen!!!!

Sooner or later we will all need to change our kit through the various developments, whether it may also mean changing allegiance who knows. Developments with some brands are coming thick and fast and 'traditional' camera sales have been hit hard. Jon I'm not going to regurgitate our conversations and you chose to do things now and you had good reason too, but I think it may have been a bit early, however.... Canon will launch probably it's last DSLR by April, the EF lens for their mirrorless are awesome, but the bodies have a way to go IMHO to match other brands and my guess that the 'sleeping Canon Tiger' may not really have something tangible until 2021...

do not jump too much between software , try to master one !!!!!! You will find folks favour this and that .... in the end the output is what counts !!!

Jon, what have I been saying these last few years???? No one software is better than the other for RAW conversion, irrespective of what folk say, they all have pros & cons, it simply comes down to, can you use it and does it deliver the output YOU want? The only key software you really need is PSCC.

There endeth this mornings sermon I'll now step down from the pulpit Jon.

TFS
Steve

[John Mack]

Like the crop on this one. The croc looks content with his spot for now. Nice detail. I don't mind the bird.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks John glad you like him.
Andreas Steve, I will settle on a piece of software when I am settled on it, I can only determine that by chopping and changing until I make a final decision ......which is probably going to be Lightroom. Capture One is £20 per month and it doesn't handle Olympus large files only straightforward raw files, so I will give it a miss.
Regarding Olympus I still come back to the expression that it is a poor workman who blames his tools. I have been deliberately trying to get away with relatively slow shutter speeds (yes I know you told me not to but I had to try), this practice works on some subjects but not all by any means, the slightly puzzling aspect to date is that I seem to have greater success with insects and birds than mammals and reptiles, anyhow I think we've beaten this to death now, I am posting a tiger next!