Mountain Goat

A nice little portrait Ryan with a very good exposure for the fur and nice catchlight in the eye. I do feel like the composition is kind of stuck between a portrait and full animal shot. A closer crop on the head (maybe even a vertical format?) might be a bit more effective. And the branch is a bit of a distraction, but sometimes you gotta take that kind of thing. I'd love to see one of these guys in the wild!

Hey David, thanks for the comments. Until you mentioned it, I hadn't really considered the composition issue that you highlighted...but certainly see what you're saying. As for the branch being a distraction, I'm in total agreement. I thought about using the clone stamping tool in PS to eliminate it, but never did...until now. What do you think of the reworked image? Is this a little more what you had in mind?

I certainly appreciate the comments. I have absolutely fallen in love with photography, but am still pretty green! Trying to learn as much as I can, whenever I can.

What a special encounter! You did well in framing and capturing him. I had not even considered the branch as a possible distraction until reading comments. This is one where I really wish we had a larger version to view, both to access detail and for enjoyment.

I like the original post better. Partly because a mountain goat in a dark forested area is a novelty (at least to me).

Ryan, I am in-between on this one. I don't see many Mt Goats in the forrest, so I would be tempted to keep the trees in the shot, but might clone the distracting branch a tad. I might also crop just a smidge off the right, but I am a big fan of 4x5 (especially for portraits of fauna) and that might not be everybodies cup of tea.

Very nice image, impressed with the hand held sharpness! I like the first post, but would suggest cropping some off of the right side and leaving the left. Thanks for sharing. Certainly a different view of a mt. goat.

Nice contrast with green. I like both versions. On the repost i'd give him just a little more room on the right as viewed.

Based on some of your comments, I've altered the image one more time...cropping the original a bit and partially removing the branch. Personally, I like this version the best and appreciate you leading me in this direction. Not sure what everyone else thinks, but I welcome your comments either way.

Hi Ryan, I like the curious look on that goat's face. The clear eye is a strong focal point. I do not advocate cloning things out (or in), but your last post is the best one IMO.

I like how well you held the whites. The final repost is my favorite. Nice eye contact.