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Thread: Coati or coatimundi

  1. #1
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    Default Coati or coatimundi

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    Got this guy coming down into an AZ desert wash to eat some berries.
    Canon 7D 500 F4 ISO 500 F4 1/1250 sec. Gitzo tripod with wimberly head.
    I really like his eyes, how well his long claws showed up and the different textures around him. I have another that I cropped tight but I like this wider shot better and thought I'd ask for comments.
    I don't like the fact that I don't have his long tail in the shot, only got one of those in the short time he stuck around after he busted me and there was too much grass in the way.
    For those of you not familiar with this primarily tropical species they are a mid sized carnivore in the raccoon family. Not common in AZ, but not rare in the SE.
    Comments are always appreciated as my images are usually greatly improved with your help.
    Stan

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    Lovely 3D effect to this one . I would tone down the BG a bit to make the coati POP !

  3. #3
    Ken Watkins
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    Stan,

    What a nice animal I cannot say that I have ever seen an image of one of these before. I agree that it would have been nice to get everything in, but you have got an interesting position here.

    The BG was not exactly helpful for you here, I would try to darken it a bit .

    I have now succumbed to temptation, and have tried adjusting the JPEG as best as I can, I do hope you do not mind? It is probably a bit overdone, as I have no idea what the true colours are.

  4. #4
    DanWalters
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    Like the repost. Great color and I like the eye contact with the cactus in the background.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Stan - interesting animal that I had not heard of or seen before. Nice comp and agree about toning down some of the highlights.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Stan, great to see another different animal being posted.

    The loss of the tail personally isn't a big thing IMHO, as the face/eyes engages with the viewer and the raise paws adds a hint more to the pose. The overall BKG is rather distracting as there is a lot going on, but it's the habitat, however toning down the hot spot of the cactus is something that needs to be addressed, easy to do, just use part of the other cactus. The overall colour, texture and markings looks fine in the OP, albeit with some harsh light coming in from the RHS, however the whites/creams in the elbow/shoulder don't appear to be blown, retaining some detail which is good. Perhaps a hint more below, might help if you have it and you could afford to lose some space to the LHS. Really like the detail in those claws.

    What time of day was it taken, late afternoon?

    TFS
    Steve
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    Thanks guys for the response and I agree with the comments.
    Steve, it was taken early morning, I'll be back there Wednesday to try and get some more as they are uncommon where I live.
    You stated it was easy to fix the cactus, however with my limited PS skills, I'm stumped by your suggestion.
    Could you outline how I could reduce the "bright cactus pad" with other parts, cloning? I know the basics but some of the things you guys do amaze me and I'm just trying to learn.
    Ken, the repost definitely helped with the highlights but it's a little oversaturated. If you have the time, could you let me know what you did to tone them down.
    Thanks guys.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Stan, you could go back into the RAW file and adjust things that way which is easier and less complicated, but may not give you the ideal version, however without seeing/knowing the original image it would only be second guessing to what adjustments would work, plus what RAW converter you use. The other option (not ideal), but it might be easier for this purpose is to duplicate your cactus, make a mask and 'burn' it back in so to speak. Crude yes, but with the hi res file, a little patience it can be done and for this exercise, well...

    In RAW you can also adjust those whites to and reduce any hot spots. Hope the next trip is more fruitful light wise and these guys come out to play. If you get the lighting right you will have a good image to come back with as all the other components are there. Would try and work to say f/5.6 to give you a hint more DOF and you can increase the ISO far more on the 7D if required, as you had the SS and working off a tripod too. Just keep checking that histogram!!!

    Good luck and look forward to seeing more from the next few days.

    As I say, not ideal, but this might give you a steer?

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

  9. #9
    Ken Watkins
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    Stan,

    I suspected that I overdid the saturation, I'll try to drop you an email if I can remember what I did

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    Default repost

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    Here are your excellent suggestions, any more?

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Stan I would just try and drop the Opacity down a bit, so the new area does not look like an exact copy, and revert back to more of the softer tones & quality of the OP. Just compare the softer colour tones of the BKG in the OP to the repost, personally I think they look more natural, WDYT?
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    good point, thought about doing that when I did it. Thanks for the instructions, ended up using a QM, creating it's own layer and just moving it. This forum has helped me so much in the last 6 months, thanks again.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Please to hear it's all going in the right direction, keep it going.

    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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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Neat to see one let alone get a photograph. Your last repost looks pretty good. This also works for me as a tight vertical with an all cactus BG.

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    I liked your RP most
    TFS

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