Great expression with that tongue out, wish for a more eye level angle. I'd probably take the sharpening away from the rock to keep the emphasis on the subject.
Keep them coming!
Thanks Sid, I think the grain (noise) in the sky may be largely from downsizing to a JPG. I'm not sure what the correlation is, but I chose F18 to get the most DOF possible on the animal and rocks, yet still stop movement.
Is the a correlation between noise and f/18 I don't know about?
Hi Bill the settings are just a personal choice but don't see the need for stopping down so much.
In this case making the rock so sharp is detracting from the goat and causing grain due to the ISO Might be a good idea to list all settings ISO, Exp Comp, Lens Will give a better idea.
I don't mind the upward angle for this subject and find having sky/clouds in the bg very pleasing. Also like the post and careful crop behind the legs Excellent !!!
Sorry for the delay... still unpacking! I just reviewed the original raw Image, and the grain is still there, but not sure why it is so pronounced even at ISO 320.
Full settings were:
1DmkII
70-200/2.8 with 1.4 & Circular Polarizer
Shot at 280mm
1/250th
f/18
iso 320
Goats being animals of the high mountains look fine when photographed from below it is in fact how we expect to see them. When I've photographed them from above it seems a bit unnatural. I think you could have tone fine with less DOF in this image as well.. The high angle of the sun is less than flattering however. Sunny days and wildlife photograph early and photograph late...