Taken at Rhino Safari Camp, Matusadona, Zimbabwe, 15th June 2009
EOS 1D MkIII
500mm F4 IS hand-held
F4.5 (a mistake), ISO 400, 1/4000
Young Elephant
Taken at Rhino Safari Camp, Matusadona, Zimbabwe, 15th June 2009
EOS 1D MkIII
500mm F4 IS hand-held
F4.5 (a mistake), ISO 400, 1/4000
Nice image, but I would crop out the top to the top of the blue line on the right border. I would clone the blue below that out. It would have been nice to either have the "tree" on the left in better focus or have taken the image without the "tree", as it is distracting. The image seems a little soft as well. With the background issues, a higher shutter speed would have been nice, or a tripod/or other support for the big lens. Proping on a tree limb or against a tree trunk, or if in a vehicle on the window with the engine turned off would have helped. The IS is a good assist feature, but it does not stop camera movement totally. That's a big lens and support is worth the image.
I do like the shot however, hope you can reshoot again someday.
All good points coverd by Mark here
But what a cute fella this is
lovely shot , TFS
Very beautiful shot of the young elephant, I like the pose. A tighter frame would be great and a bit of counter clockwise rotation.
Mark,
My intention was to get soft focus, perhaps it is too soft. I wanted as much of the background out of focus as possible, I am no great fan of dead (drowned) trees. Again I really do not know why you consider 1/4000 a slow speed, the engine was turned off and I do not make it a practice in an area with lots of Black Rhino and Lions to get out of a Land Rover to rest my camera on a tree. It would also have been against park rules.
Connie,
I had not noticed that slight rotation was needed, thanks for that.
The opportunity to reshoot is unlikely, but I can hope.
Beautiful shot of a cute little fella Ken. LIke suggestions already made so can only thank you for sharing.
what a cutie pie he is, love the soft focus effect.
[quote=Ken Watkins;314069]Mark,
My intention was to get soft focus, perhaps it is too soft. I wanted as much of the background out of focus as possible, I am no great fan of dead (drowned) trees. Again I really do not know why you consider 1/4000 a slow speed, the engine was turned off and I do not make it a practice in an area with lots of Black Rhino and Lions to get out of a Land Rover to rest my camera on a tree. It would also have been against park rules.
No problem Ken. I like the image of the young elephant. Wish I could get some in the wild. I have to settle for the zoo and Lion Country Safari here to get those species. :(
As for the soft focus, your aperature/shutter does control that. However, distance to subject/background are also factors to consider. The farther the subject is from the BG the better the SF effect will be. With your lens and the setting it appears the subject was still within the soft focus range. I know you can't move the subject and BG. But it is something you need to consider when going for soft focus. While SF is desirable for the BG, the subject is also in a slight soft focus here.
I know you did the best you could and appreciate your explanation on your efforts for steadying of the lens. All my comments are only intended as suggestions on next time, and are based on what you indicated in the posting information and what is seen in the posted image.
Keep on shooting. We all need to improve. I'm no better than my comments either. Seeing other images helps me improve both in what to do and what to look for in avoiding issues.
It's your image and your vision.
Mark,
Thanks for your explanation, taking photos from a game viewing vehicle can be very frustrating. The use of tripods and even sometimes bean bags is nearly always impossible. What I really need is a leightweight compact support that is user friendly, I am to old for body building.
Understand Ken,Originally Posted by Ken Watkins
While I know what a game vehicle can be like. There are a number of supports that you have with you at all times. Depending on the subject, putting your elbow on your knee or tightening your grip and pulling against your body will help too. You may do one or both, but just suggestions if you haven't tried them in the field.
Been thinking of getting into body building myself, but don't know if I can get my legs up/over the weight machine seat anymore! ;) :D
Hey Ken,
I see why youtried to go with the shallow DOF to minimize the BG distractions. I tried a browser crop to the top of the blue.....it then appears to be a distant lake (albeit a bit blue) and you could tone down and desat some of the blue. You were working with strong sidelight and of course with the vehicle situation.....you take what you can get.....so the pose on the little guy is very cute. You may want to try bringing up some of the shadow side.....just a bit.....to bring out some more depth. Not bad considering some of the many obastacles.
Roman,
You are quite right it is part of the lake (sea) formed by the Kariba Dam. The birding here is out of this world, pity I am not yet that good at birds.
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