First Approach

Gallery: WildlifePosted July 12, 2014161 views5 comments

This was taken when this sow first approached the campground over a small ridge. While the focus was a bit off, I liked the better loo at the eyes and the composition feels more dynamic to me than the image I posted earlier.

1Div, 500mm f4 ISL + 2.0 TC, Jobu gimbal on RRS legs, f8, 1/320, iso 640, pattern metering, aperture priority. Cropped to 11.6MP. The foreground slope in full sun was very bright and I brought it down with the shadows/highlights adjustment.

Comments and criticisms are most appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on July 13, 2014 at 5:39 PM

Hi Dennis, I agree with your own assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the photo. I like the eye contact and open mouth. here a lot. While I like the diagonal in the frame I do wish he had crested the ridge of that hillside slightly more to clear the shrub and get ahead of the tree behind his shoulders. Nice looking bear and photo with habitat!

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 13, 2014 at 7:50 PM

Thanks, Gary. Unfortunately, when she crested the ridge, she dropped her head and the eye contact went away.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on July 14, 2014 at 9:49 AM

I like this one, not only for the eye contact, but for the more dramatic lighting. I agree about the missed focus and ideally I would have wanted the tree in the background to not "grow" from her back.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on July 14, 2014 at 11:04 AM

Hey Dennis,

Like Gary, I pretty much agree with your assessment of the image and I certainly do consider it a more dynamic composition. When I look closely at the larger version of the image I really see nothing in the image that's really sharp, which leads me to believe camera shake (rather than missed focus) is more of an issue.

Looking at your techs explains it - you're shooting with the equivalent of a 1300mm focal length (assuming my memory of the crop factor of a 1Div is 1.3x is correct) at 1/320s - that's really tough to do and get a sharp image (even on a firm tripod). To get such an extreme focal length sharp at this shutter speed you'd need to be shooting mirror-up (or in Live View) with a cable release. And...you're also shooting wide open with a 2x converter on...that almost always produces a soft image (with "both" manufacturer's you do need to stop down 2/3 to a full stop with 2x TC's to get a sharp image...).

But I totally get that "ya gotta do what ya gotta do" to get the shot!

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 16, 2014 at 6:22 PM

Great eye contact and as you said I just wish the face was a bit sharper.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments