What is the purpose?? Pink Doe

[Cheryl Flory]

As Rob asked in Lance's goose image, what is the purpose of an image?
I am posting this pic, as an example/discussion starting image on when to keep images as accurate vs. traditionally what we expect to see. Yes, I can color adjust this image to make a "natural color" brown with white deer, and the trees white or brown. But that is not how they appeared. I even desaturated the pink somewhat in this image!

I was shooting a very red sunirse, when I turned around and saw this doe watching me. The doe and I were by the river, so the pink sunrise reflection in the water was in turn being reflected up into the woods and on her. Not the color you expect to see in deer, but accurate. I like it the way it was in nature. In a perfect world, I would have been in the middle of the river so I could include that as the source of the pink tint to the image. But I wasn't going to wade the Maumee River at 36 degrees this morning. Way too deep and too cold.

So when do you decide to do a major color shift or when to keep as you saw it? Such as pink does or bluish bucks? lol
so, what do you think?


Canon 40D
1/15", tripod
F3.2
ISO 400
70mm
12 minutes before sunrise

I lightened, increased blacks, and some desaturating even. then sharpened. Some cropping of the woods all around the deer, mostly on the left side of the image.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Cheryl - Tough question and one that only you can answer really and think you have. If you had posted this without the story - I think you would have had comments about the pink colour cast - BUT with the story it stands as a accurate recording of the scene in front of you.
The image by itself without the story doesn't provide enough pictorial information to the veiwer for the viewer to see that it is how the scene was - IE: If the sunrise reflection in the water was also in the image, the viewer could see thats were the colours were coming from.
Just IMHO.

I like it as it IS!!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Cheryl Do understand the question but just looking at the image does not seem natural .... not being there. Maybe a slighter lighter version would be less saturated !!

These are tough and would go by feel.

[Cheryl Flory]

Agreed. Now if I could figure out how to merge my photo of the river reflection to the bottom of this photo, then it would make sense. otherwise. it just leaves one puzzled, if no explanation.

[Gus Cobos]

Perfect the way it is Cheryl...if this is the way you saw it, this is the way its rendered. :):cool:

[Cheryl Flory]

Gus, that's the way I think too. But this discussion has shown me that the cause of something unexpected usually needs to be included in the image if the image is to "make sense" to any other viewers. That's the aspect I had been missing.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Image tells a story, I think it is up to you to choose which story to tell. What important is how you can make sure that the viewer get the right story that you want to tell, in this case having the sun raise reflect in the water would help.

By the way, good job on getting the right color. I am having hard time doing that, most of the time I'm not sure what color it look during the time I took that image, so ended up with one I think it look right :p.

[David Thomasson]

it just leaves one puzzled, if no explanation.

For me, that's that key. If a picture is to stand alone, it should explain itself.

I don't think anyone would wonder about the yellow/red cast on this building. It was shot at sunset. But my first
impression of your image was, "Yikes, the color is way off."

[Cheryl Flory]

Thanaboon, With this doe, it was impossible to forget the color I saw. We have all seen how when the sun is low that it can affect the tint of the scene around us. But I have never seen it as strong as this doe and woods. I actually said "Wow!" out loud to the deer. lol. surprisingly, she didn't leave. I knew before clicking the shutter the discussion here on the color tinting. I just wish I could have gotten some river in the pic. But the necessity of including that didn't occur to me then, only after this discussion. If it had, I prob would have tried to see how far out into the river I could have gone for the pic. lol.

Thanaboon and David, how right you are about needing to know the whole story. We are more used to seeing sunset shades on buildings. Plus, in your image, you do have the cause--that is shown in the long shadows.

I am learning a lot from this discussion. Thanks everyone!