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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Opinions on unentered wildlife photos
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 10/06/2004 10:25:04 PM · #1
I have a couple of outtakes from wildlife that I would like some opinions/scores. I am also playing with Neat Image for the first time, so I am posting two versions of each photo. Can I please get some feedback on these shots without regard to the Zoo vs non-Zoo controversy.

Originals:



Neat Image attempts:



Message edited by author 2004-10-06 22:26:28.
 10/06/2004 10:29:53 PM · #2
The second of the originals is very good (left note). The first seems to be less clear--motion blur I think.

In this case, I don't particularly care for the NI versions. But what were you going for here: a bit of a glow?
 10/06/2004 10:38:03 PM · #3
I agree with Neil. This is not really an appropriate situation for Neat Image and both of those shots look way over-processed. There are no smooth areas in either original photo, so any noise will be hidden anyway.
 10/06/2004 10:40:47 PM · #4
How about this one?


10/06/2004 10:47:36 PM · #5
Originally posted by doctornick:
How about this one?



That's a great one! I can't wait to see what your entry looks like! :)
 10/06/2004 10:50:07 PM · #6
Here were my two outtakes:

and

Zoo shots, I know, but I liked them anyway. :)
 10/06/2004 10:54:21 PM · #7
Originally posted by nshapiro:
The second of the originals is very good (left note). The first seems to be less clear--motion blur I think.

In this case, I don't particularly care for the NI versions. But what were you going for here: a bit of a glow?


Thanks for your comments. I found the texture of the grass a little distracting in these shots. I was hoping to minimize it a bit placing the focus on the subject rather than the grass. So what would you score them?
 10/06/2004 10:55:04 PM · #8
Originally posted by annasense:
Here were my two outtakes:

and

Zoo shots, I know, but I liked them anyway. :)


I like the lions.
 10/06/2004 11:06:19 PM · #9
I had this to work with, even though I liked the log in the upper right I knew it would distract many here, and there was no way I was going to get rid of the oof twig in front of him so I scrubbed the whole cat idea.

10/06/2004 11:16:10 PM · #10
Originally posted by dartompkins:


I like the lions.


:) Thank you!
 10/06/2004 11:34:11 PM · #11
My favorite outtake-



I had several others that I liked, but I'm not going to cross-post them all here.
 10/06/2004 11:45:04 PM · #12
Originally posted by scalvert:
My favorite outtake-



I had several others that I liked, but I'm not going to cross-post them all here.


I left a comment on that one, it's beautiful. Not to bring up the zoo v. wild thing, but... I mean, I know this would be an extremely difficult shot to capture in the wild, but it's likely that it COULD be taken in the wild. Who's to say you didn't take it in the Congo? For the people reading this thread, who would have voted this down for "zoo" reasons? I'm just curious. Again, not wanting to start that debate again, I just want to see a show of hands. :)

Me personally, I would have given this a 10... but I did enter a zoo shot. :) It's sitting at 5.6424 w/11 comments, so that's not so shabby in my world.

Message edited by author 2004-10-06 23:46:42.
 10/06/2004 11:59:51 PM · #13
I'd be curious to know as well. The reason I didn't enter this gorilla image is that, zoo or no zoo, it would be a very unlikely shot even if I lived in an African jungle. I figured that my entry should at least be plausible as a wilderness capture. I think people that might have struggled to find a good bird or squirrel shot in their local wilderness may have voted this one down for personal reasons, even if they don't admit it here.

FWIW- my actual entry is doing quite well, so I can't complain.
 10/07/2004 12:11:50 AM · #14
Originally posted by scalvert:
I'd be curious to know as well. The reason I didn't enter this gorilla image is that, zoo or no zoo, it would be a very unlikely shot even if I lived in an African jungle. I figured that my entry should at least be plausible as a wilderness capture. I think people that might have struggled to find a good bird or squirrel shot in their local wilderness may have voted this one down for personal reasons, even if they don't admit it here.

FWIW- my actual entry is doing quite well, so I can't complain.


I think it is a great shot and worthy of a good score, but my opinion on this subject (zoo thing) seems to be in the minority.

It almost makes you want to go find all shots that look like they could have been taken in a zoo and give them all 10s to try to even things out a bit. But back to the subject, how well are you doing? My entry, which I really like, has climbed UP to a 4.84 (sorry for the edit, that was my other terrible score.)

Message edited by author 2004-10-07 00:14:02.
 10/07/2004 12:18:01 AM · #15
I've been hovering around 6.9. Like I said- can't complain!
 10/07/2004 01:44:07 AM · #16
Originally posted by scalvert:
I've been hovering around 6.9. Like I said- can't complain!


Wow!
 10/07/2004 10:36:50 AM · #17
Would anyone have voted the gorilla down as a zoo shot, or was I just being paranoid?
 10/07/2004 07:48:54 PM · #18
Originally posted by scalvert:
Would anyone have voted the gorilla down as a zoo shot, or was I just being paranoid?


bump, for scalvert's question. i'm curious, wanna see if anyone else will answer. :)
 10/07/2004 07:54:05 PM · #19
Originally posted by scalvert:
Would anyone have voted the gorilla down as a zoo shot, or was I just being paranoid?


I'd give it an 8 on prelim voting. There are no elements that tell me this is a zoo. I have no way of knowing where/when the shot was taken. Heck, you might work with Jane Goodall for all I know.

Well done shot.

10/07/2004 08:08:04 PM · #20

With all the emotional energy invested into the discussion about zoos being inbound or out, I do not think the voters were left with much choice but to vote the zoo shots as meeting the challenge. In my case, I basically made three piles:

Group 1: Shots that were either clearly taken in the wild or, really looked like they could have been in the wild (this included everything that didn’t look perfectly staged as you would see in a zoo, included an animal of some kind, and showed something of the background.) I gave this group extra latitude for not having complete control of their subject or setting.

Group 2: Shots that were either clearly in a zoo/display, or were very likely in a zoo. The gorilla in this post would have fallen into this category. It shows some background, and with a stretch of the imagination, it might have been wild. I judged these shots on my normal scale, and expected typical DPC standards on the shot.

Group 3: These were the others. In these shots there was something about the shot that made me think the challenge to include the natural environment was completely ignored. I owe these folks some comments, as I hate getting low votes from anonymous voters, and feel wrong doing the same to others.

Even with few that I did not think met the challenge, my average vote was slightly higher than my normal average, so it seemed a pretty fair system.

In another post somewhere, I recommended that we have a period shortly after the challenge announcement, that the challenge author take questions and make clarifications. In this challenge especially, I think such a system would have saved a great deal of emotional energy.

10/07/2004 08:42:37 PM · #21
Apes are fairly easy to shoot in the wild if you know where to look for them, namely wildlife reserves (yes, in Africa). One of the reasons why is that apes in the wild dont generally know their own strength and are somewhat timid of man but also curious. That is why if you ever watch Jane Goodall documentaries or the type they get very close to the apes. In comparison apes in zoos know very well their strength and often learn to manipulate their keepers.
 10/07/2004 08:49:34 PM · #22
Do you use a tripod? Might want to try that to avoid having to use neatimage.

Originally posted by dartompkins:
I have a couple of outtakes from wildlife that I would like some opinions/scores. I am also playing with Neat Image for the first time, so I am posting two versions of each photo. Can I please get some feedback on these shots without regard to the Zoo vs non-Zoo controversy.

Originals:



Neat Image attempts:

10/07/2004 09:19:37 PM · #23
Originally posted by Sonifo:
Do you use a tripod? Might want to try that to avoid having to use neatimage.


Bah! 448mm at 1/50 second handheld- who needs a tripod? ;-)
 10/07/2004 10:10:28 PM · #24
Originally posted by scalvert:
Would anyone have voted the gorilla down as a zoo shot, or was I just being paranoid?


No, it's a great picture! However, because of the "debate", I think some pictures NOT taken at the zoo are being voted down "to even things up". I don't think that is fair, or reflective of the challenge either. I think there were some incredible pictures in this challenge - some obviously taken in the wild and some not. It's kind of the same as portrait shots. There are some great ones taken in the studio (like a zoo????) and other great ones "in the wild".

I've already voted on all the submissions, but I know I'm going to go back through my votes and look at them again to be sure I was fair. My vow now is that I will NOT vote any picture lower, but I sure might vote some higher. I am trying to comment on most of the submissions as well. I may not be able to accomplish that, but I'll try. And trust me, I will NEVER inflict the kind of sarcasm I've experienced on some of my photos on anyone else. I just don't believe in it.

Message edited by author 2004-10-10 08:11:43.
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