Posted by David Sewell on June 28, 2010 at 3:50 PM
There are a number of colonies of wall lizards in the UK, some deliberate introductions whilst others are descended from escaped animals. I was staying near one of these recently, and paid it a vist early on a very contrasty morning. The lizard is still warming itself up after a cold night, and I find something incredibly ancient about the way it is holding itself.
Superb detail David and you have caught the eye well. Can't decide whether I would prefer a little more on top and left but I do like this composition. What size are the wall lizards in comparison to common lizards? I have never seen a wall lizard before.
Thats a nice portrait, I would perhaps prefer a little more room around, I do feel that you are suffering a little from not having a full black in the image (you said you reduced the contrast), did you shoot RAW? If you did then you should be able to get the contrast lower but still retain a good dynamic range...
It also looks a little like critical sharpness is not quite there, perhaps because you were handholding... if you are basically shooting from the hip haveyou tried a cheap monopod just to give that little bit of supportand can be quickly adjusted... the Manfrotto ones are good for this, simply fix it to the lens ring, roughly line up on your subject, loosen a clamp,let the leg drop and lock again...
What an ugly beast! Excellent pose but I agree a little more space would help.
Posted by David Sewell on June 28, 2010 at 5:19 PM
Thanks for the comments, especially Phil's. For this repost I have given one pass of USM and upped the contrast slightly, although the blacks already looked fully there to me. I do have a Manfrotto monopod, and they are good, but I could not have used it on this occasion. In this case the camera was jammed into the rock, although handheld, so I guess it is my hands rather than anything else.
Discussion
12 repliesNikon D200, 150mm Sigma, 200 iso, 1/350th @ f11, handheld. Contrast reduced before posting.
Fran
Thats a nice portrait, I would perhaps prefer a little more room around, I do feel that you are suffering a little from not having a full black in the image (you said you reduced the contrast), did you shoot RAW? If you did then you should be able to get the contrast lower but still retain a good dynamic range...
It also looks a little like critical sharpness is not quite there, perhaps because you were handholding... if you are basically shooting from the hip haveyou tried a cheap monopod just to give that little bit of supportand can be quickly adjusted... the Manfrotto ones are good for this, simply fix it to the lens ring, roughly line up on your subject, loosen a clamp,let the leg drop and lock again...
HTH
David
Nice encounter albeit in very harsh light. Maybe you'll have to get out there before that hearty breakfast the B&B offers..!!
Nits covered and your nearly there in the second post but might be worth playing a bit more with the RAW.
Look forward to more..
Brett
Second one is spot on for me .
Second much better.
JR
Heath
Hi Dave,
Impessive looking beast there and the repost looks spot on to me.
Cheers,
Lewis.