Madison Morning

Jerry,
I have no idea what you feel about cloning patching etc are but for me this is a fine example of an image somewhat spoiled by an unfortunate background. I would certainly try to make the tree trunk disappear

That's quite a rack! As an alternative to cloning out the tree and log, maybe some selective blurring?

Hi Jerry,

While I don't disagree with Ken about the background having a negative effect on the image, I don't think the shot is spoiled by it. If you're comfortable with selective editing, what I'd suggest here isn't cloning or blurring, but rather a selective reduction of the exposure in the background - probably around 2/3's of a stop. That will greatly diminish the negative impact of the distractions back there AND make the subject pop a lot more. You might also take down the exposure on the butt (probably about 1/3 of a stop). It's amazing how much impact you can have on an image (and how you can "influence" viewers) by tweaking exposure alone.

I very much like the side-view of the bull's head and the antlers, but am left wishing it wasn't curled around so much (i.e., that the head was in the same position but the butt was angled a little more to the right and not occluding the neck). Right now it's pretty much a butt-dominated shot!

Cheers...

Brad

Thanks for all the comments.

Brad, I took your advice and made the suggested adjustments. I think tit improved the image. Thanks.

Hi Jerry,

You know, I'd probably reduce the exposure on the background even more (this is a good start, but I think it could "safely" be cut back further).

Cheers...

Brad

I like where you are taking this with the darkening background. I bet this bull gave more poses, too...am I right?

Lon,

You are correct. Posting more shots of same bull.

Jerry