|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 63 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Madhu. I had to stop by and leave a comment on this image. First, this is a sight I have never seen and on that level alone this is an impressive image. As usual you selected the proper fstop to keep everything important in sharp focus. Every leg is simply razor sharp. I understand that the leaf is a bit soft but that simply brings more attention to the spider. i note that you have the flash on the hotshoe,but still got a beautiful solid black background. This brings up two questions: First, how big is your diffuser and second, how did you keep the background so black?
Great job.
|
Feb 5th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 63
|
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Oh boy! I can hardly wait! And best of all, I will get to see it first!!!! ;-) |
Feb 25th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Thank you for your compliment. I chose this image because I wanted to share how carefully selecting a background can dramatically impact an image. I think of myself as a background freak- To me it is almost as important as the subject. As you can see, I also strive to capture light in a unique way.
I struggled with that light on the far slope. I could dim it but I felt it would look phony because the light that is hitting the ram has to fall somewhere? I muting that light might improve the image, but to me it looked fake. I try to get it right in the camera. I'm not a purist (I will edit a photo) but I want to preserve what was there. I really don't know what to do with this one.... But I do thank you for the input. I'll try to do it it better next time. |
Feb 11th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Thank you Stephen. Rest assured, I will continue to share images and my techniques and passions. |
Feb 11th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Thanks for the very kind comments. I have several other shots of this ram, but none I like nearly as much as this. I rather liked his head angle because it gives him a sort of "I'm in charge around here you, you mere mortal, are of absolutely no interest to me." looking at me would have made him appear to be appear of my presence, this way, he is alone in his world. Thanks for your thoughts. |
Feb 7th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
When i first saw the title of your image all I could think of was Toulouse Lautrec 19th century painting which was titled "The Painted Ladies". I think that good old Toulouse would have to get out his brushes so as to paint your lady. You have a beautiful image of this butterfly. I feel the composition is complimentary to the subject and you have created a background that sets off the subject quite will. I feel the choice of gear works quite well and I like the choice of such a low ISO.
I do have a question regarding the use of flash in capturing this image. I note that your fstop is on 5.6 and you are adding an extension tube to the lens. I have found that adding an extension tube generally reduces my DOF. Thus my question is since you are using flash, and you noted that you used full power, so I wonder why you choice f5.6? Wouldn't your flash have enough power to allow for an increase in the fstop? I'm asking for two reasons. First I am trying to learn something about macro and second because the flower and the butterfly look a bit soft and with the flash and the high shutter that eliminate motion blur andthus brings up my question. |
Feb 7th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
You have a beautiful image of a very handsome bird. I think the pose and the background make an excellent combination. I think you got all you could out of the image you have to work with. You also did an excellent job of editing the image and bringing out the detail in the shadows. You even have a catch light in the bird's eye which helps to eliminate the "dead eye" that is so deadly in bird photos. Well done! While I like your image very much the major cropping you did caused the final product to appear quite soft. Other than that, it is a really beautiful image.
When I saw Wayne's seagull image I attached a link to a recent article by Steve Perry on Cropping images. I think it will give you some ideas that might help you in the future.
I have the same camera as you and while I do not own your 200-500 lens I have used it. I am not trying to spend you money for you but you might look into the Nikon TC1.4 it will couple onto your current camera and lens and turn your 500 into a 700 without costing you any noticeable photo Image Quality. Steve mentions it in the article.
The link is just below:
https://backcountrygallery.com/the-cropping-epidemic/ |
Feb 7th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Glad you enjoyed the article from Perry. Maybe we should request PSA to develop at 12 step program? :-)
I like your new image better. It has fewer distractions. |
Feb 6th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Overall this is an excellent image. I believe that you are correct in that the male is on the right side of this image. The easiest ways to tell the difference is that the male as a slightly longer beak (I think this one does), the male is slightly larger (hard to tell here because of the squat position of the bird on the left) and finally that the male tends be be a bit more ruddy in color. The Nikon D500 handles high ISO pretty well so since you have really good light on this image the ISO is not harmful. Generally with such a beautiful and clean background I would suggest raising the fstop to guarantee sharpness and better DOF but in this case your setting seems to have worked quite well. It does not look like you cropped too much as there is till good detail in the plumage. In this case the clean sky just helps to set off the birds and make them stand out so I see no problem with the sky. There are no blown highlight in the clouds so all is well. The only suggestion is that you may have blown the whites on the female's (left bird) neck as there is no detail in that part. Other than that I think you hve a perfect image. Really well done.
Are you going back to see the chicks when they hatch?? Incubation time is about 28 days. |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Thanks Madhu. I fully agree about there being too much light on that far slope. As I noted to Wayne the light on that far slope was pretty bright. I really brushed it down quite a bit. That ray of light that hit the ram also hit that far slope pretty hard. Do you really think I could have brought it down more without creating an unnatural darkness behind the ram?
Also, I'm quite pleased that you noted that diagonal line in the foreground. Its position was planned as I like the power of the diagonal. |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Thanks so much Wayne. I love roaming the wilderness and I have found that the more I know about my photo targets be better images I get. I spend a fair amount of time during the winter reading up on my subjects--it helps both in finding them and understanding their behavior that I can then add to the image.
I too am partially color blind. As for the color tint--it you are at high elevations then the last light of the sun actually does carry a distinct color shift toward the red-orange range. This is what causes the wonderful alpen glow so prized in landscape photos. In this case it was the ray of red-orange light that is striking the ram and gives his brown coat a tint. Perhaps sadly that same light is hitting the far slope and giving it that brightness behind the ram's head. I did use the adjustment brush to tone it down a bit but stopped before it got a bit muddy. I thought that taking it out completely would make the image look too unnatural. |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Reply |
Wow. You seem to have been inside my head. All the things you note are exactly why I shot and chose this image. I think that overall,it is the light that really makes the image. Thanks for finding all the things I like about the image. |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
The is an old rule about judging photos that simply says: "Nothing Trumps Cute". This is just too cute!! The expression on the baboon's face is wonderful and both the tree and the baboon seem to pop out of the solid green background.
It is probably either my eyes, or perhaps just the downsizing process needed to post the image but the baboon appears to be a little soft. However, a shutter speed of 1/125 may explain a little of the softness. Perhaps a slightly higher ISO would allow for a faster shutter speed.
Finally, is it just me or are the leaves on the far left size of the image a bit dull and "muddy" looking? I'm particularly noting those isolated leaves in the upper let corner.
Congratulations on a really "cute" image---I like it. |
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
You have captured a nice action shot with a bit of humor added for icing on the proverbial cake. As has been noted I think the crop is a bit off. I would have taken a bit more off the top and added it to the bottom so that the reflection is not left so close to the bottom of the frame. Normally I would agree that a low fstop such as the one you selected would be perfect, but since the second bird in the image is really part of the story line then I feel that a higher fstop---8-11 might have kept more of that second bird in focus and made him more clearly part of the story. When ever possible it is usually better to try to shoot at eye level for your subject so I would have gotten a bit lower.
Under the category of "for future reference" I am providing a link for a recent Steve Perry article on Cropping Images. There is lots of good stuff in here to help improve photos.
Lastly, while it is not your fault note the amount of floating debris on the water. Generally these type o images are more powerful when there are fewer distractions in the image. Jut something to think about for future images you really could not do much about that debris in this shot.
|
Feb 5th |
| 67 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Don't know if this is a "scary movie" shot but it is an awesome shot of a snake. The overwhelming green tones really make the eye of the snake pop out and grab the viewer. Additionally the blurred back ground serves to make the portion of the snake that is sharp all the more captivating.
I think that there are two cropping issues in this shot. First I'd remove that brown object in the upper left corner since it is the only really non green in the image. Secondly, I would like to see the snake given more room to move in the image by having more space on the left side. I just feel he is a bit crowded in that side of the frame. This is a really powerful image. |
Feb 5th |
7 comments - 7 replies for Group 67
|
| 73 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Hello. I'm just visiting from Group 67. I am a great fan of the Maroon Bells and would love to get to photograph them sometime. This is the first time I've ever seen them photographed at night and I like the composition and the results. I see some color shifts in both the mountains and the water. May I suggest check the box in Lightroom to Remove Chromatic Abberations and then play with the reduce color noise as well. Both of these might help improve this very fine image. |
Feb 15th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 73
|
| 77 |
Feb 19 |
Comment |
Just visiting from group 67. One of the most exciting images of a snowy owl I've seen. This is very impressive. Well done. The action is captivating! |
Feb 15th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 77
|
10 comments - 7 replies Total
|
