minniev Loc: MIssissippi

This is a shot I'm having trouble making something of. It isn't tack sharp but folks, it is hard for an old lady to chase an elk without getting caught at it. I did get better/closer shots once he quit moving but he was over the crest by then and and the mountains were gone! This one was the only one with the errant bird, too. So, please help me figure if anything can be done to salvage it, and if so, where to crop, and any edits that may help bring more out in his face and deal with the overbright background without causing more trouble than it solves. I'm posting my edit first, and the uncropped version second.

Ok to edit my photos.

my edit in LR


uncropped version

Bill Houghton Loc: New York area

What I did in PS was increase the image size on the Cropped version, this would help keep the noise down. Then I cropped it to what I liked, you might not. I then ran it through a de-noise program and De-Jpeg program. and here it is.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

This is a very appealing picture to me as I love wildlife, although it is a subject I do not have enough images of, and also enjoy a mountain environment.

Below, I have posted your uncropped version for comparison and offered two versions with my own interpretation.

In both my edits I have increased ambiance, sharpened, lightened the shadows, raised contrast and slightly denoised. I have also cloned out the indistinguishable birds in the sky which, to me, were a distraction.

The crops are in a 3:2 ratio. The difference between the two is that in the second edit the mountains and the foreground have been blurred. The mountains were not detailed as it were. Some may not like the clump of bushes remaining on the left, however I think they add to the composition. Removing them, if you wish, would not be difficult. :)

Original - Uncropped


Edit One


Edit Two

jteee Loc: Montana

I would have focused more on the elk itself, although the other interpretations are well done. This is what I probably would have done.

MtnMan Loc: ID

I know it loses the context you wanted but I too would zoom in on the elk.

snails_pace Loc: Utah

I wondered what this would look like with the elk sky-lined. So I removed the background and put in a new sky.

One of the things I noticed was that the picture is front-focused. The grass in front of the elk is sharper that the elk. If this is typical, the lens can be adjusted with the "fine tune" if the camera has it.

It could just be that in trying to catch up to him, the camera focused on the grass.

Not easy to find and keep up with an elk this size - they are usually quite wary. Well done.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Outstanding edit Snails Pace. 8-)