B&W Bull

It's simple and emits calm. Nice job.

István Pénzes
Győr, Hungary

Hi Mike,

B&W conversions can be tough to successfully pull off with wildlife but they're always interesting (and informative) to experiment with. In this case the tonal range of the entire image, and the subject in particular, is on the narrow side for my tastes (for a B&W conversion). In practice this means that there simply is too much of the same gray tones to suit my taste.

Independent of the conversion, it would have been nice if the elk had turned its head slightly toward you (at least until perpendicular to your line of shooting). A catch light in the eye (which you might have got if the elk turned its head) would add to the image. For my taste the image is cropped on the tight side - it would be nice to have the full rack in the image.

thanks for sharing this...cheers...

Brad

In lieu of having more room for the elk perhaps even a tighter crop would help. Just thinking out loud. I agree with Brad that the best b/w shots have almost black and almost white and lots of tones in between.

Hi Mike. I agree with Brad's critique. This might also work in a sepia tint, just think the subject material would suit it. Zooming out would be the most effective improvement though.

The sweeping lines of elk antlers are such beautiful natural art that it is hard for my eye to not miss them. This might have been an instance where turning the camera for vertical would have preserved them. I agree with Brad about the B/W conversion looking fine technically, but artistically being better suited for bolder and more graphic compositions.

I find the crop to tight for my tastes. I would really like to see the antlers. From what I can see it looks like he would have a pretty good rack. Generally speaking I think wildlife usually (but not always) looks better in color.

Thanks for all the comments. My monitor seemed to show a little more contrast. My initial thought when I took the shot was the great texture in his coat. I guess it did not really come through on the conversion. Lucky I did get many shots with his antlers and better catch light in the eye. I will try the suggestions on future shots! I appreciate all the comments!

Thanks

Mike,
Keep experimenting, as I do, and I often fail spectacularly. But I'd have to agree with Brad on this one: not worthy of B&W conversion, crop too tight, and all of the above. Having said that, however, I'm impressed with how close you were able to get, and to capture the elk at rest. Not an easy task.