The Thumb Sucker

[Hilary Hann]

Dare you all to say that title really quickly!! :p

7D; 300mm IS f4; 1/90; ISO200; f4; +0.5

Processed using Nik Silver.
One of the orphan elephants from The Sheldrick Trust, Nairobi.

[Steve Mandel]

I see what you were trying to do but the composition doesn't work too well for me. The ear, or whatever is hanging at the right edge, is a distraction. Also, I find that the image is a bit tight - the trunk hair is clipped and I think it would be much more pleasing to give it all a bit more room all around. Finally, not sure why this is B&W - it makes the uneven wavy background more distracting that it need be, possibly. It would be interesting to see this with more space around it and in color to compare. But, keep at it Hillary, our learning never stops!

Steve

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary, well as said many times before, these guys do lend themselves very well to B/W and for me it tends to bring out the detail and texture much more, giving the image far more interest. I would agree that the image does need more room to the left and foot of the image, I would also agree that to crop off the 'ear' part wouldn't probably hurt, but as you know, cropping is so personal. :) Not sure how sharp it is, so perhaps another round of usm might help? Have you tried also adding some film grain in the software, like one of the 100's

TFS
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve and Steve.
Steve M - I purposefully left the edge of the ear in because I preferred it that way, but of course this is personal. I just don't like the version without the ear. I know some people just don't like b&w, but colour isn't always best. In this case the background was a combination of bright green and red earth … just a really unattractive combination. The trunk hair is cropped but the hair was impossible to see through the lens and I didn't realise that I had cropped it until processing the image. I have room to the left but intentionally wanted the tight crop. What works for some won't work for others but appreciate the comments.

Steve K - as always appreciate your thoughtful response, thank you. I considered adding canvas at the bottom but I really don't think the IQ warrants the extra work. The focus is ok, it is the camera shake! No excuses for that but the purpose here was working on toning and composition.

So the composition obviously isn't working for the viewer?

It helps when planning future compositions for my close ups on the next trip. I might try your suggestion of film grain … could hide lots of sins. :)

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Hilary, I quite like the shape of the picture, as in the composition. The thumbnail looked very good. I dont mind the clipped hairs. As there is little detail in the eye I think that the shape of the curled trunk, as well as the textures of the elephants skin are very important to the image working, and on my monitor, the ele doesnt look sharp enough to make the texture pop, could just be me. Also think that the edge of the ele against the background is soft due to DOF at f4, and I am never too lucky with handholding the 7D at 1/90sec with 300mm of lens. Higher ISO would have given you less shake and more grain with the 7D:DDid you get any more frames...
cheers
Grant

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Grant and I agree with you entirely. I wish sometimes that I would pay more attention to the techs instead of the art!

I have some better frames image quality wise but more clutter in the background. It may be that they work in b&w because the clutter can become less 'in your face' but I suppose I won't know until I try. This was the easy option as far as pp goes but I always knew that the softness was going to be problematic. Perhaps I thought everyone was so old that their eyes wouldn't notice!! :D

[Steve Kaluski]

Fine response Hilary and pleased that in part, you stick to your thoughts & conviction. Personally if you shoot close you have to be spot on as you have very little latitude to play with, so perhaps shoot tight as you want, then shoot wider to allow a marginal crop, the best of both worlds if time & the animal play ball. Converting to B/W not only hides at time as you say sins, but also reducing bright distracting colours.

I feel you do have an eye and know what you want to capture, the tech will follow in time. If it was in reverse then to me, that is the more difficult one to work on. :)

Perhaps I thought everyone was so old that their eyes wouldn't notice!!

Think it must be an Aussie thing, as Marc tried that one too, LOL:D:D:D:D

[Hilary Hann]

Steve, that Marc is a bonza bloke and knows a thing or two! :p ;)

BTW, I'm going to be so 'tech aware' in January that I'll be exhausted........ Good suggestions with the two crops and I'm hoping that buying the 100-400 will help with that in some way. The 300 is a fine lens but I missed the zoom and I think that I really need that flexibility.

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Hilary, tried to send a PM to your inbox but it seems full. :D
cheers
grant

[Marc Mol]

Thanks Grant and I agree with you entirely. I wish sometimes that I would pay more attention to the techs instead of the art!

Nothing wrong with paying more attention to the actual theme at times Hilary, so you get my vote on that.
I like what you were trying to achieve here, Nik Silver is really a great tool for this type of image.:)
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Hilary - I do think elephants tend to make great B&W or monochrome images. Unfortunate about the sharpness but we've all been there. I think you'll really like the 100-400. One of the most important tips I learned here on BPN was to shoot the subject with multiple focal lengths with this lens. Sometimes the wider shots give you more to work with later.


Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Marc & Rachel.

[Andrew Merwin]

Hilary, I like this image a lot. It has wonderful texture & I like how the trunk leads my eye away from the elephant's eye & back to its eye. Also, I like the crop. It seems more intimate to me.
I agree with SK's comment about photography's artistic aspect being harder to learn than the techs.

[Robert Amoruso]

Hilary,

I like the tight crop too. The ear is OK with me but a little more on the bottom to get the hairs in is preferable IMO.

I downloaded the image and sharpened some more. It seems critical focus was not right on the plane the truck falls it as the forehead appears sharper. Next time try for more DOF. I also dodged the dark area of the eye out in the download and like that a lot. You might want to give that a try.

[Harshad Barve]

Lot of thoughts already put here but I must say I liked the idea and design of image
TFS

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Andrew and Harshad and Robert. Robert, I'll try your suggestions too. Appreciated.