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Thread: Torro!!

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Default Torro!!

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    Was digging through some files from 2010 for a publication brief...and came across this large lone buffalo bull photographed in the Addo Elephant National Park last year. The morning light was sweet and the angle was unique. He was standing on a knoll so our vehicle was quite a bit lower than his position.

    I like the OOF terrain and the brooding stare leading you to an illusion that he's going to charge you any second...

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    Nice Morkel but might reduce the OOF foreground. I think even by trimming the bottom by and inch you will still get the desired look.

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    What a impressive set of boss, but i'm on the fence regarding the image...Not sure if it works for me!

  4. #4
    Ofer Levy
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    I am afraid it doesn't work for me either: the side light leaves half of the body too dark, not seeing half the legs is not great and the FG is way too big. I don't see how you can improve this one to make it a keeper.

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    Ken Watkins
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    Another vote for does not work for me, for the reasons stated above and others, such as little detail.

  6. #6
    Robert Amoruso
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    Morkel, not working for me. Large OOF FG is distracting and drags the eye down before you ever get to the buffalo. THe lack of detail in the shadows and the cut off legs like he is planted in the ground really are deal breakers.

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    Agree with above comments, just doesn't work for me, to dark with too much FG.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Thanks guys, respect your views...I am always trying different perspectives and putting it out there is valuable in gleening others' views on it. I left it dark to enhance the mood I was going for. Your critiques raise good points.

    Ultimately - I have to like it...and I do for some reason (call me weird)...so I guess the call for declaring "keeper" lies in the end with the one who created it :).
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    I wont call you weird lol.. but I have to agree with the other members points....

    Its actually an interesting point you raise Morkel were you say "Ultimately You have to like it" Why?

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Peter, I am away from home so working from my phone, therefore my post might have come out more cryptic than intended...



    Will try to say what I was thinking...ultimately we need to create/take photos that appeal to us as the "artists", but obviously most of us would like our images to make an impact on those viewing it, thus we do seem to want other people to like our photos. But, in the end, even if "nobody" likes a particular photo yet it still has appeal to you as the "creator" of it, then there's no reason to "bin" it. Case in point above - all points raised are valid and I find myself agreeing with some of it...yet I still like this image. Now it might be because it reminds me in some way of that morning and sitting staring at this buffalo who was in an elevated position staring me down. Maybe it's precisely because animals don't always give us the mind-blowing behaviour that will overpower any weaknesses in our technique and provide us with stunning shots, and oftentimes we need to try and portray the "buff in early morning light" just somewhat differently. If you and I had shared this sighting our shots would probably have looked vastly different, except of course for the "rule-of-thirds" perfectly proportioned shots with good head turn etc.

    Maybe I'm starting to ramble. It's tricky enough to post a long post like this one on a mobile phone, let alone edit and prune it. Maybe I'm just trying to stimulate discussion on how each of us sees things in our minds before clicking the shutter...

    I will add that there have been many times where honest critique of a particular shot had changed my mind about it and I "binned" it. There have also been times when it hasn't and I stuck to my guns despite few people seeming to agree with me. In the end we need to earnestly take in critique, but we also need to be able to stay true to our artistic vision if that's what led to a particular shot in the first place. How you let critique shape your views will probably end up being slightly different from artist to artist and even from photo to photo as an artist.

    Making sense? If not ignore it and call me weird as per post above haha
    Last edited by Morkel Erasmus; 05-20-2011 at 12:35 PM.
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    Hi Morkel
    Thanks for your reply and thoughts...
    I agree that as photographers we sometimes struggle with getting rid/ deleting/binning images for reasons of emotional attachment or maybe the effort that went into capturing the image.I can understand that.

    I have had photographer friends who say to me as long "as you like the image then that is all that matters" I don't know if I totally agree with that statement. I just think that sometimes as photographers we find it hard to admit that our images may not be good enough , an ego thing maybe? not sure.
    I know we all post/show/print our images for a variety of reasons but I believe our driving force is to create an emotional connection with the viewer. If that fails and we only like the image , would we be happy being the only one liking our work?

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    Morkel, I do agree with your sentiments totally having experienced the same emotions you've discussed. There is a difference between producing a competent image which ticks the boxes which may get universal approval and trying to show or elicit a particular feeling which may not tick any boxes. One thing for sure, if you are a half decent photographer (which you are) an image like this will strike a chord with many people out side photographic circles and may illustrate exactly a particular viewpoint.

    Peter, I agree with you that if we are ultimately the only one who likes our one image and that ego gets in the way of objectively assessing it, we have missed the point. However, I would also say that we are a small pool of thought on a photographic forum as we have trained our minds to certain ways of thinking.

    As far as this image goes, I don't find myself drawn to it especially but I find myself drawn to the buffalo. So something in his attitude was worth trying to capture IMO and I wonder if I would have tried it differently and whether it would have worked any better. With such an intimidating pose I may have tried to increase the 'anti' feel of it by shooting a horizontal image with less foreground, keeping him centered looking down the barrel. Subjective really, but I would have tried something without a doubt.

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    Now that's a face only a mother could love. I haven't seen very many images of a cape buffalo and they are a lot different than our native breed. I think I might have tried to go with almost no foreground at all except a bit for the buffalo to stand on.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Morkel Erasmus View Post
    Peter, I am away from home so working from my phone, therefore my post might have come out more cryptic than intended...



    Will try to say what I was thinking...ultimately we need to create/take photos that appeal to us as the "artists", but obviously most of us would like our images to make an impact on those viewing it, thus we do seem to want other people to like our photos. But, in the end, even if "nobody" likes a particular photo yet it still has appeal to you as the "creator" of it, then there's no reason to "bin" it. Case in point above - all points raised are valid and I find myself agreeing with some of it...yet I still like this image. Now it might be because it reminds me in some way of that morning and sitting staring at this buffalo who was in an elevated position staring me down. Maybe it's precisely because animals don't always give us the mind-blowing behaviour that will overpower any weaknesses in our technique and provide us with stunning shots, and oftentimes we need to try and portray the "buff in early morning light" just somewhat differently. If you and I had shared this sighting our shots would probably have looked vastly different, except of course for the "rule-of-thirds" perfectly proportioned shots with good head turn etc.

    Maybe I'm starting to ramble. It's tricky enough to post a long post like this one on a mobile phone, let alone edit and prune it. Maybe I'm just trying to stimulate discussion on how each of us sees things in our minds before clicking the shutter...

    I will add that there have been many times where honest critique of a particular shot had changed my mind about it and I "binned" it. There have also been times when it hasn't and I stuck to my guns despite few people seeming to agree with me. In the end we need to earnestly take in critique, but we also need to be able to stay true to our artistic vision if that's what led to a particular shot in the first place. How you let critique shape your views will probably end up being slightly different from artist to artist and even from photo to photo as an artist.

    Making sense? If not ignore it and call me weird as per post above haha

    If I recall correctly, sticking to your guns on the b&w Wildebeast shot paid off nicely when you entered it in last years WPOTY comp.
    Last edited by Jamie Douglas; 05-20-2011 at 08:09 PM.

  15. #15
    Ken Watkins
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    Speaking as someone without an "artistic vision" I can only agree with Peters comments, especially "would we be happy being the only one liking our work?"

    I just like to take images of reality which I and hopefully others enjoy.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    thanks for the varied responses here, folks, certainly an interesting discussion...

    Peter...you would be hard pressed to find "nobody" liking a certain picture (if you had to submit it to every person alive ). But tongue-in-cheek comments aside, I agree with most of what you were saying - I would lie if I told you I don't want people to enjoy the photographs I capture......yet sometimes I think one has to accept that some of the things you capture will be unique to your perspective through the lens, and it might not strike a chord with many other photographic connoisseurs, so my sentiment is...if YOU like it...KEEP it...even if "nobody" else likes it...



    As an alternative - what do you folks think about this version, with less FG and the sky "extended"...?
    Last edited by Morkel Erasmus; 05-22-2011 at 08:54 AM.
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    Ken Watkins
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    Morkel,

    Changing the crop may improve the composition, does not result in a better Bufallo, it still has little detail.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Ken - where is your "little detail" aside from the shaded part? I can recover shadow detail from there...but in this case I don't want to...At high resolution the lit part of the face has full detail, plus I purposely underexposed to get this kind of feel...
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  19. #19
    Ken Watkins
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    Morkel,

    I would rather not get into a personal taste debate, you like it, I do not it is as simple as that.

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    Morkel, much improved to my eye and it has maintained the threatening nature of the image. I know what everyone is saying but today's bin job maybe tomorrows artistic masterpiece as tastes change. I bin nothing! :eek:

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    Hi Morkel, I am late this this thread, but I prefer the repost, and it does have a threatening feel to it...processing looks good to me.
    cheers
    Grant

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    I am afraid it doesn't work for me either BHAI
    TFS

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    thanks for your honest thoughts guys and gals!
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