Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Hi!

I was up at Sprague Lake just off the Bear Lake road in Rocky Mountain National Park yesterday and came across three bulls working a tree over. Two of the bulls separated and started to spar with one another.

I'm not a wildlife photographer, but could not pass up this opportunity so I would appreciate your critique on this one. I selected f8 in aperture priority because I wanted to insure I had enough depth of field for the subject.

Bottom line it all happened quite quickly, and then was over and the elk walked away.

Please use the criteria as defined by our moderator. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-165149-1.html

Here are the technicals:

Canon 60D
Aperture Priority
Spot Metering
Sigma 18-250mm @ 210mm
f8
iso 640
1/400 sec
RAW

Post Processing - Lightroom 5
Noise Reduction by way of Topaz Denoise
Minimal Sharpening though Focus Magic
Exposure -.25

Thanks

Sparring Bulls

dooragdragon Loc: Alma , Arkansas

Excellent job there everything is so sharp and bright lots of detail.
Pete

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks!

I appreciate your thoughts.

Heirloom Tomato Loc: Oregon

Just looked at the ten points for critique and had to give you ten check marks for this photo. Very fine shot.

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Wow, that is very kind of you.

Thanks!

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

The sheer look of determination in the eye of the rightmost bull tells a story in itself. These are such majestic creatures ..... more regal than deer, and more handsome than a moose by a fathom. Good, clear capture of these two.

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks!

conkerwood

Superb pic. I was recently touring through Canada and Alaska and this is one of the pics that I didn't get so the pic evokes much jealousy on my behalf. F8 seems to have been a good choice, the bulls are sharp, particularly the eye and there is enough softness in the scene behind to make the elk more prominent. Often in balancing a pic we aim to have the main point of interest off centre but in this case, having it in the centre works very well as it conveys the idea that the two are equally matched. A number of elements in the pic reinforce this central point, the central tree trunk behind, the line of the green branch down from the upper left corner and even the two sloped rocks at the righ all tend to move the eye to the point where their horns interlock. So I guess I am saying that in terms of composition I think you have done an excellent job. In fact like another poster I think I would be ticking lots of the boxes from the critique guidelines. But a couple of thoughts and a question, based on downloading and checking out the pic at its original size.

1) On the hind legs of both animals and particularly on the one on the left there is some fairly strong magenta fringing. I don't know whether you do lens correction as part of your work flow but if not then that should resolve the issue. Otherwise selective desaturation would convert the fringed area to grey which is far less noticeable to the human eye.
2) If you look at the belly and legs of the left elk and to some degree the one on the right you can see that the dark areas are blurred and lacking detail. My guess is that this is caused during noise reduction. I use Topaz myself and this problem of detail loss often happens if you choose one of the presets rather than manually adjusting the sliders for optimum noise reduction while retaining detail.
3) A minor point but in the upper left there is a small yellow coloured shape. Since it is almost the same colour as the elk it tends to grab my eye because I find myself checking out whether it is another elk lurking in the background. As I said it is minor but the pic works so well in bringing the eye to the interlocking horns and it is such an easy clone to remove a tiny distracting element.
4) And the question. As someone with limited experience of taking pics in the snow I know that shadows tend to take on a blue colour, and I know enough of the science behind it to understand why. But to my eye the shadows in your pic seem to be quite strong blue/magenta. I adjusted the colour in PS6 and came up with a less blue result which looks better to my eye but as I said my experience of snow is limited. Is the colour of your pic how snow actually looks in shadow?

I just reread what I wrote and I am very concerned that I do not come across as being negative because its a nine out of ten pic for me. But to my eye, (and I have no doubt others will disagree) it is the nitpicky stuff and the small details which when resolved elevate a pic towards the ten we are all striving for. In cooking, the perfect meal is one where every element is cooked and balanced perfectly. Its the same in photography.


Love the pic.
Peter

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks!

ozdude Loc: Brisbane Australia

The light is superb. :thumbup: Real drama. The Sigma is doing a good job for you. :thumbup:

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Hi Peter!

Thank you for the excellent critique!!! You have enabled me to look beyond what the eye naturally sees or wants to see and what the brain just fills in to the little nuances that will improve not only this photo but my photography in general.

I normally use lens correction in Lightroom, but in this case I failed to do so, because I did not even think to look for fringing. Good catch!!

You have also helped to define a question that I have about Topaz De-Noise, and that is how does De-Noise affect the image as a whole. And you have provided a solution, so thank you for that!!

I'm not sure what the yellow colored shape is. It could be an elk or a rock or a tree, but that could probably be cropped out. So thanks for pointing out that distraction!!

I had not noticed the slight blue tint to the snow, but I think that can be corrected by tweaking the white balance a bit.

I appreciate your concern about negativity. Your comments are not negative, they are constructive and I thank your that as well!

Thanks for taking the time to do a well thought out critique, I am most appreciative.

Applied Corrections

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Thank you!

DaisyB Loc: South Central PA

Very nice shot, they are determined, image is sharp with clear detail.

Crichmond Loc: Loveland, CO

Thanks!

hikercheryl Loc: Madison, NC

Crichmond,
On this edit the white balance seems a little off. I actually think the original "blue tint" better reflects the cold setting.
Cheryl