Young bull elk

I too like the fleeing posture and the clinging velvet. Amazing at ISO 6400. Reminds one that skill is the most important thing but having good equipment is pretty far up there too. The detail and lack of noise is impressive. I might make it a wall hanger.

Hi Lon,

Subtle and with quite a nice flow. Between the movement of the elk that you were panning and the selective focus (and shallow DOF) the bull pops out quite nicely from the background. I'm wondering if just a touch more saturation would help this image shine a little more?

RE: the ISO. Yep, being freed from the shackles of "low ISO only" shooting is very, very liberating - it opens up just so many more options. Exciting time to be involved with photography, tho' keeping up with all the new advances can be challenging (on both the brain and pocketbook!).

Cheers...thanks for sharing this one...

Brad

Nice shot of a graceful looking animal. I like the pose and the flying velvet. There is something that I want to ask you that I am curious about regarding your statement,

"My D200 seldom gave me any keepers beyond ISO 400 and with it, this surprise encounter would have been only a memory."

Maybe I am wrong but I will assume that means you would have discarded the shot if it was too noisy or perhaps packed it in for the day as the light faded and not made the shot at all.

There are many things that make up a good photo, light, composition, lens choice and camera angle, etc and of course image quality, but in my opinion numero uno is the content. I agree that good IQ is desirable but I guess what I'm asking is if you had a photo with really good content/subject matter like this one at ISO 6400 with a lesser camera that was of lower image quality does it really have to go to the trash can?

I guess I am saying that I think a photo that meets all the standards of excellence is still excellent in spite of the fact that it has lesser IQ because it was taken from a lesser camera. Maybe because I don't have a D3S

Nice running pose here Lon and I particularly like the detail of that debris on its antlers.
I would like to add/reply to Robert's statement. I agree that content (i.e. light, atmosphere, composition and action/behaviour etc.) remains number one and lesser IQ will be more accepted if an image is truly great. IMO there is too much focus on great equipment these days, whereas it should be on creating great images instead. Unfortunately in a way IQ does become more and more a deciding factor in this competitive industry. Further it also depends on the usage of your image. If you want to make super large wall hangers IQ and resolution are much more important than for web presentation or magazine print only.

Hey Lon,
I really like the running pose and as I am at ISO 6400 all the time for my night landscapes.....I am always amazed that people are reluctant to push the equipment! This image shows clearly just how you are missing many opportunities if you refuse to at least experiment at the high ISO's! Very nicely done!

Very nice image Lon! The D3s certainly does pack a punch at the high-ISO end and I have found that on my recent trip too. That being said I was never afraid to push my 7D to high ISO settings if needed, I just know with the D3s the files will be cleaner and 'more usable'

I like the soft light and the motion you captured here. I also need to make a more concerted effort to get motion into my gallery more often.

Hello again,

I'm going to wade into this one too (i.e., respond to Robert Bunch's and Vincent's comments) - but if this keeps up it might be a good idea to move that aspect of the discussion to the Wildlife Forum.

Robert - you said: "I guess I am saying that I think a photo that meets all the standards of excellence is still excellent in spite of the fact that it has lesser IQ..."

I firmly believe there will never be unity on this point - it all depends on the image standards of the photographer and the intended usage of the image. If one is shooting for a newspaper the IQ demands are totally different than if one is shooting images destined for National Geographic or Nature's Best. I regularly trash images that have everything but good IQ - it's my experience that in the end they have almost no value to me (or economically) and they just plug up my hard drive. My livelihood depends on producing images that sell (or sell my services such as photo tours) and image quality is a HUGE part of that.

And Vincent - you said: " IMO there is too much focus on great equipment these days, whereas it should be on creating great images instead."

Hmmm...I don't see these as mutually exclusive at all, especially if you're regularly shooting images in conditions that are on the edge of what cameras can do. Over the last couple of years I have been able to capture images that would have been absolutely impossible to capture even five years ago, and it's entirely because of the advances in ISO performance, AF performance, and image stabilization technologies. Obviously there is STILL something to the very old saying "f8 and BE there", but at the end of the day, if you can extend the limitations of your gear, you're going to be able to capture MORE great images than if technology was stalled or static. It's true that one can capture a great image with an iPhone, but I wouldn't want to have to try to do it regularly enough to pay the bills!

Cheers...

Brad

Robert, good question and clearly there are various right answers depending on situation and personal intent. I know that for me, my skill level would not have enabled me to come up with a crisp eye in this situation...and if I had used 6400 with that generation camera
the lack of adequate dynamic range would have been a bigger stumbling block than high noise. In fact, I personally don't find some noise to be objectionable in most images, but that is a matter of taste.

I had to study the larger view to appreciate the beauty in this photo Lon. Love the sense of action, the trailing velvet, and that high head carriage. Cool composition with the elk entering the scene and the distant trees at the top.

Lon, IMHO this is a very nice image of a bull elk on the move. Maybe a tad more contrast, but I certainly enjoy it as it is.
Thanks for sharing.

Nice soft feel to this image while still rendering a sharp subject. I like the trees across the top and the flying shred of velvet (reminds me of those streamers on bicycle handlebars).

Love the head held high and the sense of motion to this Lon

Great technique to get the animal this sharp @ 1/160th Lon.
Well composed, great habitat.
I especially like lifted head/running pose, and the elk stands out very nicely in the frame

Totally amazed and your ability to have been able to capture a shot as good as this with the settings you've shown Lon, very impressed and I'd be proud to have this in my collection! Thanks for sharing :^)