Rear View
by Phocal

Comment by tanguera:
Love this image. But I'm having a hard time deciding who the subject is!!

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by Phocal:
[user]ciaegle[/user] Thanks for the comments. I would have liked a different angle but a lot of times in wildlife photography you take what you can get and hope for a better angle/lighting/behavior the next time around.

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by Phocal:
ArnaMarie Thank you for your comments. I wanted more of the nose in focus but it would have required a much smaller aperture and would have pushed my ISO into the area where I would not use the photo due to noise. On a brighter day it would not be an issue but on a cloudy rainy day it was just not going to happen.

Light Pole Sitta
by Phocal

Comment by Ecce_Signum:
Hi Ronnie, welcome from Andi at the Critique Club and catching up on some old critique requests ;)

When I first opened this pic I did have that 'WOW' moment and was a little confused to see the score/position and have no idea why it didn't score 6+ even in a FS.

A great spot and love the composition, it must have been uncomfortable for him. The image is nice and sharp with good detail everywhere except for his neck which looks a little over exposed on my monitor. Is that a real Texan sky or did you adjust it somewhat? either way it does look a little false so me, too even and blue.

A very picky thought but is the pole just half a degree of vertical? I really like the shot and leaving still confused with the score.

Yellow Foot
by Phocal

Comment by grahamgator:
Nicely seen, fun image. (voted earlier)

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by ciaeagle:
Personally I like the color version you posted better. It somehow lessens the impact of the blurry snout for me. Maybe the blur would have worked if the angle to the eye had been a bit different (i.e. the snout pointed more to the right edge than center.) He definitely has that "I would love to eat you" glare going on. I probably would've added a point or two if I had seen the comments about how close you were ... Yikes! Stay safe out there. :+)

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by Phocal:
Not sure you will see this...........

Ja-9 Thank you for your comments. I am shooting µ4/3 so I get double the DoF of a full frame camera. So I had the DoF in this shot like shooting a full frame camera at Æ’8.0, so also the crop factor for µ4/3 is 2x and in full frame this would have been 420mm of reach (150mm lens + 1.4x TC = 210mm).I also did not want to go higher because I was already pushing my limit on ISO. Oh, it is also the angle that causes the DoF to look narrower then it is. This shot was taken at Æ’4.0 also but was almost strait on so you can really see it better.



[thumb]giantmike[/thumb] Thanks for your comments. I thought about cropping some but ended up going with the full frame. To also get the nose in focus (with the eyes) I would have had to shot at a minimum of Æ’13.5 (would give 13 inches of DoF) which would have taken my ISO entirely to high for me. I actually wanted to get at least the first set of side teeth in focus also but could not so I backed down to really draw attention to the eyes.

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by ArnaMarie:
I saw your comment request. Not sure if you also want feedback from someone who is hardly dry behind the ears, but here is my two cent :)

I agree with Snaffles that the isolation of the eyes is great. I hope I never have to look at a similar expression in real life, unless I am looking through binoculars standing more than 2000 feet away :) I too would have liked to see the nose more in focus.

I am by no means an expert on b&w, and I might be completely wrong here, but I think I would have preferred a tiny bit more contrast in this images. To be honest, I think I actually prefer the color version. Sorry! The warm yellow on the bottom jaw gives the images vibrance and the weed on the top jaw makes the animal look more wild, in my eyes. To be honest I did assume this was a zoo shot when I saw it during voting. Had a look at your gator gallery. I particularly liked the first one, because there was more of the environment included in the images. There where several images in your gallery that I really liked.

It was interesting to read your comments. Will watch the video when I'm not about to go to bed :) I might get nightmares!



Message edited by author 2015-11-08 17:50:33.

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by giantmike:
The focus on the eyes is great. But it would be even better if the nose was in focus.
I like the black and white, it works well with the detail.
Seems like if you crop the bottom closer to the gator, that would put even more attention on the beast.

Alpha
by Phocal

Comment by Ja-9:
Ok Ronnie here's my comment....

you shot this with an f/4??? To SDOF IMO you need at least an 7.1/8 - I should talk because my entries (3) have all been 5.3/5.6....rolling my eyes...



I think that the voters expect to see at least the snout and all the way to the eyes clearly...that was my first thought about your entry. I don't mind beyond the eyes but the foreground and mid-section needs to be clear (and yes, I'm going to take my own advice...grin) We are going back to this river in Apr so fingers crossed I'll get an even better shot!!!

FWIW ~ I've sharpened the pants off mine and yes, I was on the river bank about 15' away. It was past dark and I was using my flash to get the reflection in the eye...grin...it worked!!!

ETA:

I also think some dodge & burn would really improve the tones...to me they are a bit flat, not nice and rich...

Message edited by author 2015-11-08 17:31:46.