Coming Out of The Shake
by Ashley Vincent
Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm, Shutter Priority @ f/2.8 (1/1250 sec), +1/3 EV, ISO 400, Handheld, Full Frame, Captive Subject
Following on from the “Who Need a Towel?!?” thread, this was one of the shots taken moments after, and you can still seeing some of those water droplets flying from the Tiger's coat.
In the previous image I posted of this series (entitled “Who Needs a Towel?!?) Jageep and Lon offered the opinion that it was unfortunate that I'd not left space for the “virtual” legs of the subject, a point well taken and one that may be raised again by some of you that did not get to read my response to them after you'd posted your own.
In case this is something that only occurs to you now with this image, this is the explanation I offered:
Regarding the loss of "virtual legs", the set up and placement of the pool is such that from the level where the visitors are standing it's not really possible to see much more of the water, unless one's a lot taller than me or has something to stand on. This then leaves the choice of filling the lower part of the frame with an artificial rock face (that drops straight down the the bottom of the trench that separates the visitors from the Tigers) or crop out as much of the pool's lip, catching as much of the water's surface as possible, and going for more head room, which IMO is the much better option with this setting.
Although Jagdeep, Lon and some of you reading this may still feel it would have been better to capture some of the rock-face allowing for at least a little more “virtual” leg space, I really think this is one situation where you have to be there before you can make the call ;^)
Nevertheless, critique, comments, thoughts and opinions are encouraged and welcomed :^)
Comments
14 commentsWonderful expression on Tigger's face and great detail and eyes.
I've been away for a couple days, so can't comment on your previous posts yet, but I'd like to see a bit more room on the bottom - and it would not be too hard to simply clone in a little more water.
Sandy
Cheers, Luca
If I'm being totally objective, if you take this shot in isolation (i.e., not as a sequence), it could be argued that the expression on the tiger is...well...for lack of a better or more diplomatic phrase...a bit goofy!
Thanks for sharing this one - definitely a fun post (but if the tiger saw it I'm wondering if he/she would be doing the same thing we do when we see a 40-year old yearbook image - "what was I thinking with that hairdo/expression??").
Cheers...
Brad
Wayne: I hear what you're saying buddy, and I love to please, but there just ain't no more water; as I wrote in the shooting date above, this is Full Frame! ;^)
Brad: When I look at any one of these images I see them in my mind as a sequence of shots unfolding, so probably for this reason I failed to notice the goofyness of this one and the potential for amusing captions, something ordinarily I'd be the first to notice, appreciate, and jump all over, so thanks for pointing this out - LOL ;^p
As I tried to explain in my opening post at the top of this thread, from the level I was on and angle I could shoot from my choices were either to tilt the lens down a millimeter more and catch the lip of the pool that's the starting point of the unattractive artificial rock-face dropping directly below it, or shoot it like this. I automatically opted for the latter choice because my preference with shooting captive subjects is to try and omit anything from the frame that suggests it was created by the hand of man.
Further down along the spectator's viewing platform there is an area that's a bit more raised up, but shooting from that position introduces new distractions and, lucky as I was with the performance of this Tiger on this particular day, there's no way I would have captured images as captivating as I feel I have in this series of shots, at least not IMO.
More often than not I agree with every observation and remark that's offered here on how one of my images might have been taken better or could be improved upon, and though I'm not saying that everyone for whom this is an issue is wrong, for all the times I looked at these images as objectively as I can since the suggestion was first made, for me it's still not an issue of concern.
Still, happy for the attention these images have attracted and always pleased to read the thoughts and opinions of others, thanks again one and all :^)