Sika Hind and calf in the mist.

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400mm L I.S. @ 400mm, 1/60 sec @ f5.6,
iso 800, Raw, Gitzo1548/B1.


Hi,

Took this one this morning shortly before sunrise.
The more I photograph any type of deer the more I enjoy it.Really looking forward to the rutting season this year.


I've only ever processed a couple of misty type shots and am at a bit of a loss as to whether they're coming out ok.The reason being, on more evenly lit shots I find sliding the levels highlight and shadows sliders untill any significant clipping begins seems to work ok.However on shots with loads of mist in, this technique appears to produce a too contrasty result,at least to my eyes anyway.I guess the scene should actually be quite the opposite with very little contrast.

I'd therefore particularly value any input regarding the processing on this one,i.e.does the mist and scene in general look light enough,are the deer too light or dark,do the background trees look ok.What about the overall colour balance?,etc.

I appreciate the end result is a matter of personal preference but I often find an outside opinion invaluable.

Thanks,

Hi Justin

Well the end result looks good to me. Lovely soft light, I like the misty effect in the distance and your timing is spot on to catch the two deer in a good pose.

To my eyes your post processing looks fine. Colours, contrast (i..e. very little), tone, etc all look good. I would agree that the usual rules for levels and contrast adjustment go out the window when you have a very soft toned image such as this so you have to be careful to not over adjust.

My only minor suggestion is I feel cropping a small amount from the top and bottom to give a more letterbox format might work well too. Personal taste though, nothing wrong with it as posted, just a suggestion for a different presentation and composition.

Well worth the early morning start, lovely conditions which will no doubt only improve as we head towards Autumn. I imagine this type of shot would look even better when the leaves start to turn and give some richer orange and brown colours.

Nice work Justin, overall a very attractive image

cheers

Sean

Hi Justin,

This all looks OK to me .

The light looks as if it's before sunrise which it was, the mist looks spot on, the colours of the Deer look spot on and the trees in the BG are OK.

All in all another stonking shot mate.

Well done

Regards

Rob

Your processing looks fine to me Justin. The early light and mist really add to this shot and composition is spot on.

Rob

Nice, i like it, i agree i loved my photography last autumn and got some (i tink anyway) fantastic shots. This is my favourite time of year.

Very nicely done, I'd have been just tempted to crop a cm of grass of the bottom..

Looks mighty fine to me, pose, composition are nice and the exposure and PP work look spot on, agree it is always difficult with this type of image so just go with what you think looks right and how you saw the scene when you pressed the shutter....

Agree that a slight crop top and bottom would lift this from a great image to a magnificent one.

Hi Justin

As has already been said all the normal rules of processing go out the window with this sort of image and you adjust to your eye and it looks to me in this case you have got it spot on!

I think your image is a 'stunner' and the only thing I would change would be to crop a little from the bottom only!

David

Hi Justin
a very nice image and I agree with the other comments which have been made.
John
Aberdeen

Hello Justin
If I were doing it myself, then this is exactly how I would like it to turn out .
Another beautiful image.
Best wishes
Phil

Works for me Justin...... Lovely shot
Regards Rob.

Of course, I wasn`t there, so I don`t know how the scene looked to the naked eye, but the processing here looks pretty much spot on to me. The composition, soft lighting, and interaction between the two animals are quite beautiful. Lovely shot, Justin.

Thanks very much everyone for the feedback.A great help as always.

Really nice shot.