Red deer stag (Cervus elaphus)
Hand held, approximately knee height, here he is showing the Flehmen response. I am not sure how long he will be able to retain his harem he - doesn't look very large, nevertheless I maintained a safe distance.
Olympus E-M1X
Lens focal length : 87 mm
Focal Length (35 mm conversion) : 174.0mm
Metering mode : Pattern
ISO Sensitivity : 200
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
Exposure time : 1/500 sec
F number : F6.3
Exposure compensation : -1.0 EV
Flash : OFF
ACR/PSCC
He has a nice posture Jonathan and I like the mud on him and on the antlers. Can you leave a bit more room for the legs? On my monitor it looks a bit oversharpened and the fur is kinda glossy,for lack of a better term and the grass in the FG has an odd green colour. Did you shoot in bright daylight? Did you caught him bellowing?
Dan he was in bright light, I have made a few versions of this file I have to confess I am not entirely happy with the greens but I don't think they are far off, the trees were in strong shade and the deer was about 1.5 stops brighter. At this time of year the greens begin to lose colour/vibrance.
Yes I have him bellowing.
Hi Jon ... a cool sighting .
Love the behavior captured and all the stuff hanging on the antlers .
To me the image does look too processed , again heavy blacks and the stag himself has an HDRish appearance in my eyes . But your call . Overall tones and color a matter of taste
TFS Andreas
Your stag is quite impressive and pose captured is superb, Jon - nice behavioural frame! Love that mud on his coat and vegetation on his antlers, mouth open and visible teeth.
Overall the image does appear quite dark and blacks in the BG a little intense, so to speak. I do appreciate those lovely textures in the subject's coat and detail on its face
Hope you have more to share from this sighting,
Warmest regards,
Gabriela Plesea
What a beast. Love the pose and the grass in the antlers. He looks wet. Was he wallowing? Do red deer do that? Having the background i shade helps the stag stand out nicely.
Nice looking subject Jon. A bit dark overall but the pose and the antlers are nice.
Hi Jon, could you have got lower, the shooting angle I find a little awkward and being on foot it's easier to manoeuvre than in a vehicle or ship.
Overall it's dark and the colours a bit cold for me. I like the behaviour aspect, that rack covered in grass and the wet, muddy coat, but can help feel the detail is pushed a little from Topaz and your sharpening software, albeit the wet HL don't help. If you have it a tad more below would be good. Techs, I would get a bit more SS, irrespective, so you go to 400 ISO, no big deal, but like Will, you will get caught with a slow SS one of these days and it could be a killer shot.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Thanks very much everyone, I have got valuable feedback. I can appreciate your suggestions and I have made another version baring them mind.
The stags do wallow John, in fact I have an image of one doing just that but the angle is very poor, I'd get slated if I posted it!
Andreas, you may be right over too much processing, I launched two raw images and masked and I also use adjustment brushes, some of which were perhaps unnecessary, the Olympus lenses are incredibly sharp.
Steve, sharpening was probably too much and I think Clarity and Texture were not required in the coat especially baring in mind the glancing light and the wet mud. I hear you regarding shutter speed, he wasn't moving quickly and I am shooting at 18fps so I think the chances of sharp images are in my favour, I did indeed think about ISO 400 but I took the view that the chances were I would get something, having said that a pro photographer I know thinks there is very little difference in ISO 400 and 200 so he never goes below 400. As it turn out I am permitted to travel, though it is not recommended but I will of course not be mixing with other people or going closer than at least 5m distance... and I will be wearing a mask.... so I will try some at ISO 400 on Thursday.
Gabriela Sanjeev, the image looks dark - hey you should have been there!! The trees had only the highlighted leaves visible it was almost as if the stage was against a velvet curtain.
So here's my repost hope you think a little better ......but I have to say it is a million miles away from the scene as I recall it.
Just to give you an idea this is the original capture..... if any one wants to have a turn at processing the raw file I will be happy to send it to you.
Hi Jon, see this highlights (no pun intended) of the shooting conditions and where you exposed to prevent HL's blowing, however could you not have bracketed the shot, especially with your frame rate? Then create a composite RGB? I much prefer the RP, certainly an improvement for the better, but seeing the ;Raw' that to is rather intriguing...
BTW will send you a link re the R5 and an interesting feature, especially for your Dragonfly's.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
OK Jon, taking the Raw and your wish for a dark BKG, (but now with detail, no choking...). Colours are subjective, not being there, but the grass is a form of green,this is FF.
The file has lost some detail, but visible when downloaded and opened in PS.
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Steve thanks for taking the time, I like the stag - good job, but I still think the grasses are anaemic - hey Adobe Standard profile or no - I think the grasses are anaemic, I would certainly give them a little more colour and maybe lower the brightness a tad.
Hi Jon -- Well as already mentioned , the OP is not upto the mark.
Steve's RP shows the direction, but i feel the conditions were not ideal for bringing out details in the subject because of the harsh light and the wet fur.
Why don't you try and see a Black and white version with some creative liberty during post processing ?
TFS.
Haseeb, I think it’s too ‘contrasty’ for a B/W rendition, there isn’t enough tonal range IMHO, if you half squint you eyes and view the image...
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote