Hello everyone, thank you for all your comments and suggestions to my previous post, as always much appreciated.
This months theme is pretty tough as it is very subjective and also difficult to interpret that which image will work as a BW and which won't. Nonetheless , excited to post for this months theme .
A leopard image taken under the spotlight but such were the circumstances that we were happy being in its presence and didn't want to hit the light directly on her time and again as that might have give away her cover. Tried this unconventional frame with the leopard being backlit by our diffused light , i wanted that rim effect and underexposed deliberately on the field to achieve the desired result. too bad on the ss but after applying some sharpness it definitely gets better.
Might not work for everyones taste, but would love to have your opinion on the same.
DPP 4.8, PSCC 2018, BW conversion, levels, exp, cloned out a few distracting branches near the leopard, sharpening .
Canon 1DX MK II, Canon 200-400mm with T.C engaged @ 560mm focal length, Bean Bag.
ss 1/20, f/9, ISO 3200 ( i should have gone for more, and also did increase it but the subject didn't gave a clear shot like the one above.)
All your comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Hi Haseeb - Always good to experiment in the field. The key for these nighttime spotlit images is to shoot wide open to keep the ss higher. I would crop half or even a little bit more of the black block at the bottom off. With a shot like this I tend to go more artsy and would darken the surrounding brush and even I would clone out the spot on the leopard and at the bottom.
I've been doing a bit more b&w lately. Some of them I plan as a black & white in the field but some I select when looking at them in post. Either way for the best results I look for light subjects against dark bgs or dark subjects against light bgs. A lot of people tend to convert images that have an issue e.g. choked blacks, blown hls, harsh light. Personally, I find the same rules apply with color or black & white. You need to start with a properly exposed, good image for the best results.
Well done for even attempting this type of shot - i am yet to even try. I agree that you should crop a large amount off of the bottom and perhaps even all around
Good to see you experimenting as you never know what you may come up with. Overall the image isn't working as such and my points are:
1. You needed to shoot wide open as Rachel said, you are not looking for detail as such and this would have helped both SS & ISO
2. The surroundings are just too busy, you just want rim light around the subject, whoever was 'spotting' the subject didn't do a good job IMHO
3. The raw is not sharp
Saying that, you can get around things to a certain point, but sadly nothing can deal with a soft image. I would also look at a tighter crop too.
If you want to see good examples of this type then look up an ex member of BPN Bredon Cremer who has been doing this for a long time, or a good friend Wim, both are excellent photographers, but Brendon has been doing this stuff for ages.
The RP is less than ideal, but hopefully a direction?????
Hello everyone, thank you for your honest opinion , really appreciate it.
Points taken , especially reg the aperture and the crop suggestions . Will be posting more images with some kind of experiment and will look forward to your opinion on the same. Glad to have you guys for giving suggestions and comments. It helps to experiment in the field and improve with time.