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Thread: Prehistoric

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Default Prehistoric

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    So because my travels this year were not very wildlife oriented, I have been practicing my post processing and experimenting on some older images. This one was taken in April 2009 in the Santa Cruz Highlands in the Galapagos. I decided to play with B&W in honor of Peter's great win.

    Canon 50D
    100-400 @ 400mm
    1/100
    f5.6
    ISO 400
    HH, levels adjustment, converted to B&W and sharpened in CS5. Slight crop to remove a stray piece of foliage in lrc. I decided to leave the bit of shell in the ulc.

    C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

    Rachel

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Give that guy a napkin! I like the centered comp and the slightly off center angle of the face. The lightness of the face really puts the emphasis there and the surrounding skin in the shadows has just enough detail for me. Might only darken the exposed shell in the upper left a little so there's no other bright areas except the face.

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Love the effect of this one. A great idea to make it a B&W. Agree to darkening upper left shell.
    Marina Scarr
    Florida Master Naturalist
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    Rachel,

    This really works well in black and white. I agree about reducing the intensity of the shell in the upper left corner. I used to do a lot of B&W photography with my 4x5 camera, but haven't in many years. With all these great images I may have to try some again. That's great about digital--we can do both color and B&W all the time! I would like to see this in color too.

    Roger

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, these guys are great, full of character and a good subject to practice your B/W conversions. Personally I might fractionally adjust the Curves adjustment, this adds a hint more contrast to it, plus another round of USM. It brings out more detail and defines the face more.

    Not sure if Peter will see this sadly as he is catching up with friend and family, but I am sure he will be chuffed to know he is inspiring you.

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Very nicely done indeed
    TFS

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. Here's a repost with the shell darkened, a very slight curves adjustment and another round of USM.

    Rachel

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    And for Roger - here's the color version.

    Rachel

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    Hi Rachel,

    On the B&W repost, I think the topp of the head needs darkening as I find it distracting due to its brightness.

    I like the color version too--lots of interesting and contrasting colors. It could go through some USM and saturation enhancement too.

    Both color and B&W work well.

    Roger

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Agree with Roger, both versions work well. I like the colored lines in the lower jaw and I didn't notice the serrated upper jaw until I looked at the color version. What's he eating, some kind of smoothie?

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Roger and Steve. Steve - it's a local fruit in the guava family (I think) that was growing all over the highlands and there were plenty that had dropped to the ground. The tortoises seemed to really enjoy them.

    Thanks again,
    Rachel

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, great conversion in B&W, but your colour post rocks too. In that, I like the multi colours spread across the face - good practice for Halloween. The lighter head stands out so well against the darker shell, and you repost does work better.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Stuart, much appreciated.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Rachel, the B/W repost is certainly better and I like the colour too. I just wonder if you were to give it a bit more depth in Curves to define the structure more and work on some selective sharpening in the key areas like the eyes and parts of the mouth, it then seems to have a bit more pop, WDYT? I also took the liberty of removing some of the cyan coming through.

    cheers
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

  15. #15
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks Steve. I definitely did not do enough on the color version just posted it quickly. I'll rework it.

    Rachel

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    What a character, Rachel! I love both versions but prefer the B&W repost...I would be heavy-handed with the burn and dodge tools to make it pop even more. Burn the shell and area surrounding the neck even more...also burn the top of the head...then dodge midtones slightly on the face...
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Thanks for the suggestions Morkel. I'll play around a bit more.

    Rachel

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