So As I Was Saying ...
by Ashley Vincent
Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm, Shutter Priority @ f/5 (1/250 sec), 1/3 EV, ISO 800, Handheld, Cropped about 10% in Total from Lower and Left-Hand Edges, Captive Subject
So as I was saying in the previous thread, I like to mix things up a little by communicating telepathically with the animals I shoot. Having bored the male Pileated Gibbon (AKA Black-Capped Gibbon) half to sleep with one of the many stories of my childhood (the one where I tied a piece of string to a drainpipe and the other end to a parked truck, then tried to swing from it like a monkey and ended up in hospital having nearly severed one of my fingers off …... you still with me? …. ), I decided to try my luck relating a different tale to his wife, but as you can see, she was about as interested in my life as her husband was.
Perhaps I'll gain more interest if I chuck bananas at them like one of the tourists ;^)
Happy to receive any kind of feedback on the image above … or even suggestions on other topics of conversation my subjects might find more engaging than the drawn out stories of my life :^p
Comments
13 commentsnope, not a nit from me.
Exceptional!
Sandy
I'd be curious what the image looks like with the extra branch cloned out of the top left, and kind of wish (in a perfect-world way) that the transition from foilage to trunk in the background did not occur directly behind the Gibbon so her front-side faces green and back-side "faces" brown, but that one straggling branch does offset this issue nicely and actually adds a lot to the image.
Yet another sweet one, Ashley!
John: I do have other shots taken moments before and after and after this one that might be more along the lines of your this-part-facing-that-way-that-part-facing-this-way perfect world scenario, however, this one was the only one where I managed to catch her mouth agape, hence the reason for me choosing this one as my favourite and the one to show - LOL ;^)
As to the "extra branch" in the TL corner, I gave a lot of thought to whether I should remove it or not and, in the end, decided to leave it in place for the simple reason that, way I see it, that little piece serves as a bit of an anchor, and without it being there (which it was!) it would make it appear as though the lady was swinging out of the LH side of the frame (which she wasn't!), but I'd like to see what other people might say about this too, and if the general consensus "swings" your way I'll be happy to remove it graciously while appreciating the benefit of seeking alternative opinions, which is one of the main reasons I'm here ;^)
Dramatic shot - and virtually no way to tell it was shot in a zoo (or captive) setting -well done. You timed the capture well and the techs definitely support what you were trying to accomplish. I had the same "perfect world" thoughts (re: the subject being positioned in front ofbthe transition in the background) as John, but little you could do to contol that. Personally I think positioning the subject slightly more to the right would suit my palette better, but this is definitely a matter of personal preference. On my monitor some of the greens are a tad aggressive (and perhaps too dominating?).
Thanks for sharing this - fun to look at...
Brad
Brad & Vincent: Aside from obviously wanting to get sharp focus on the important parts, one of my main goals while shooting in the zoo is to create an image that has the thought "captive" so far back in the viewer's mind that it's simply not worth digging it up and brushing it off ;^)
Brad: As you can see from what I wrote above, there was a sliver I cropped from the LH edge, so I guess I could "move" her a little more to the right, however, reason for my choice not to was that I didn't want her too centered and I always prefer to leave a little more room on the side of the frame that the subject appears to be looking into.
I agree that the greens could be toned down a bit too.
Hope you guys are all having a great weekend :^)