What's Up, Mom + REPOST

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 18, 2011157 views9 comments

Man, these guys are cute...and insanely uncooperative sometimes! On our recent trip to Yellowstone, my kids and I were constantly on the lookout for new elk calves, and despite seeing more than a dozen, only two really presented photo ops. The first that I photographed was born just an hour before I arrived, and I got to capture it's first attempts at standing and nursing while mom continued to nuzzle and clean her. Adorable, and wonderfully positioned under a tree for extra mood and nostalgia, but the hillside behind them was receiving more than 6 stops more light than they, and then the light just plummeted and I was trying to freeze their motion at 1/30sec. Oh well...it made for a nice family memory anyway! ;)

We found these two the next morning, but not until the sun was high enough to give me more than enough grief. This is a vertical crop from a more pleasing horizontal composition, but I could not control the wild backlit highlights on the cow's back. I don't love the position of the crop on the cow's neck or lack of space for her to look into, but including any more of her body camera right meant hot highlights that look unnatural when toned down, and I couldn't find a format I liked better than this to add space to the left.

I love the calf's expression as its mom alerts to a sound in the sage, and couldn't help but title this one "What's Up, Mom?"

I'm curious to know if you think the crop is acceptable, and if there is anything you feel I can improve with even more processing. I was tempted to burn in some of the brightest sage, but somehow the high-key environment and contrast helps capture the drama we felt. I did dodge back some of the shadows in the background as they drew the eye a little from the dark subjects, and I selectively dodged and burned the subjects (particularly the faces) about as far as I could take them.

Thanks in advance for your consideration of this image and any comments you may share.

Nikon D7000
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED
ISO 220
1/400sec @ f/5.6
beanbag mounted from truck window
cropped to about 45% of original

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Jeffry Oonk on June 18, 2011 at 2:51 AM

I like the pose of both animals and especially the calf's. The contrast between elks and vegetation is a little too much for my taste. For me the crop is fine.

Registered on February 5, 2011, 21 Posts, 122 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on June 18, 2011 at 1:10 PM

Adorable shot, dad! I love how he's looking straight up at the mom!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Cam Held on June 18, 2011 at 1:56 PM

I understand how tough the conditions were, but I wish the vegetation could be toned down some... I think it detracts from the great expression on the calf! Still, great shot of what looks like an amazing moment!
-Cam

Registered on November 12, 2009, 59 Posts, 398 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on June 18, 2011 at 5:27 PM

Hi John,

I appreciate the multitude of challenges in both capturing and processing this image and I think you've taken it a long ways already. But...I think I share Cam's view in wishing the vegetation could be toned down a little more yet? I totally get what you meant when you said "...but somehow the high-key environment and contrast helps capture the drama we felt" but wonder if a dispassionate viewer of the image (who wasn't there) can appreciate that (i.e., they have no memory of the event and thus no emotional attachment to what you felt?)? Just thinking out loud...

I very much like how the calf is looking up at mom...very endearing (to say the least). I suppose in a perfect world a slight head turn to the left by mom might have added a little more strength to the image, but still very nice to look at as posted!!

Thanks for sharing this one - seems like you folks had a really fantastic trip...good for you!

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on June 19, 2011 at 1:40 AM

Hey - thanks for all the comments and suggestions for bringing the sage back to better tonality. Well, you asked for it, here's my attempt at delivering! I didn't do a great deal of work on this so there's probably more potential that I've achieved here...I simply opened the RAW file again, dialed down the exposure and tweaked it a bit for the sage, brought it in as a new layer and masked the elk back out.

Thanks again for you comments thus far and for letting me know which version works best for you.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on June 19, 2011 at 8:58 AM

Hi John,

For me the re-worked version works better - even tho' this may NOT be the case (and your original post may have reflected what was seen in the field more accurately) the toned down vegetation seems closer to what I THINK it should look like. Matching image output to meet the standards that exist in the heads of others (and especially those that weren't there when the image was taken) can be quite the challenge! As image creators our post-processing is always influenced by our memory of what we saw in the field at time of capture. But I don't know how many times I've done something to an image (e.g., added extra saturation) that I think takes it too far away from the scene I viewed only to hear that it should be pushed FURTHER (in this example, getting comments like "nice shot but needs more saturation"). Visual memory is a funny thing, eh?

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Cam Held on June 19, 2011 at 9:35 AM

Hi John!
For me this second image does work better, I think the darker background doesn't attract your eye away from the elk. And as Brad said you are stuck between portraying an image as you saw it, and how other people want to see it. But, of course as the artist it is your choice! I think this is a successful image no matter which image you use!
-Cam

Registered on November 12, 2009, 59 Posts, 398 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on June 19, 2011 at 5:59 PM

Sweet photo John, I prefer the second version too. Excellent work in the field and in photo-shop for this tough lighting situation.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 21, 2011 at 8:23 AM

A wonderfully endearing image John, it must be such a treat to see something like this in the wild, many thanks for sharing :^)

Oh, and subtle as the difference is, I do prefer the second version.

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments