Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Jaguar

  1. #1
    Ted Kenefick
    Guest

    Default Jaguar

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Hello All,

    First-time post to the wildlife forum and a long, long time since I posted to BPN.

    I captured the attached image of this male jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal last October. Would love image critiques.

    Still very much a novice on PS (CS4) so would also appreciate all post-processing advice (re-posts also welcome!).

    Post-processing included a curves layer applied to the jaguar to brighten him a bit, a hue/saturation layer to bring out some more of his color as well and some sharpening with Nik Sharpener Pro. A branch was also cloned out in the background.

    I am struggling in working with selections and layers to get a more natural feel and not a "pasted-in" look.

    Nikon D300
    200-400mm f4
    ISO 500
    1/320
    200mm
    f4
    Multi-segment metering

    Thanks so much,
    Ted Kenefick
    Seattle
    tgkenefick@msn.com

  2. #2
    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    5,444
    Threads
    444
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Nice looking cat. Doesn't have a pasted in appearance to me. Since you already removed one branch from the BG, I'd personally tone down or remove the bright one coming off the back. Also, as a personal preference on a very minor point, I'd darken the pupil and the corner/eyelids of the eye just a touch to give it a bit more contrast. It appears to be a bit lighter in that area than I'd expect although it could actually be lit up by the sunbeam on the face.

  3. #3
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Indian Lake Estates, FL
    Posts
    32,506
    Threads
    1,433
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    The light and the BKGR is far more problematic than the processing. Subject in shade/filtered light with relatively distracting BKGR in the sun is a toughie. You did pretty darned well. Agree on the bright branch and the need for some eye doctor work.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

    E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.










  4. #4
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Auranagabad ( MS ) India
    Posts
    12,833
    Threads
    766
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    welcome to wildlife
    Agreed with Guruji here
    TFS

  5. #5
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    New Delhii, India
    Posts
    3,690
    Threads
    269
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Ted,
    A rare one you got. I guess a sighting itself is a privilege. Were you on a boat?

    Difficult lighting conditions. However, the bright out of focus branch behind its back - as already pointed out - is a bit of distraction. Is it a full frame or cropped image? The image would have been strengthened further with some more space at the bottom, preferably till the foreleg joint. Do you have a vertical? Look forward to more.

    Cheers,
    Sabyasachi

  6. #6
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    14,858
    Threads
    1,235
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    nobody has pointed it out so I will - there are some artifacts spilling over from your curve/levels masking of the cat, specifically on the chin, front leg, ears and basically all around the edges of the cat to a lesser degree. it's always tricky to make sure the editing blends in smoothly - I suggest you rework it and feather your selection better after selecting the jaguar.

    you did handle the conditions very well, and the sighting itself is one on my photo-bucket-list.

    welcome here and keep posting!
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


  7. #7
    Ted Kenefick
    Guest

    Default

    Thanks to all for the suggestions. The dappled sunlight conditions were less than ideal. Morkel, I did pick up on the aberrations with the curves/levels masks after I posted and have reworked these. Thanks, for pointing these out. I was on indeed on a boat.

    Cheers,
    Ted Kenefick
    Seattle, Washington
    tgkenefick@msn.com

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics