The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This nice antelope buck just stood up out of the sage about twenty yards away from me. He was so close initially that I couldn’t get much of him in the lens. I had walked up to the top of a little rise on the side of the road in the Lamar Valley to watch a small herd of antelope does coming down the hill a couple hundred yards off. They had dropped below a little ridge, so I went to the top of the rise to see if I could get a decent look at them. This buck just stood up out of the sage and slowly walked across in front of me until it decided it had enough of a lead to run over to the does. They proceeded to mosey down the swale and up the other side of the hill.
Specific Feedback
I added some canvas to the top of the frame, the bottom of the frame and on the left side of the frame in the first image. I cropped a small amount off the right side of the frame to try to get a better balance in front of the antelope. I hope the additional canvas isn’t too obvious here. The second image seems a bit soft around the eyes and face. I know I should have stopped down the aperture more, but it all happened really fast and I’d been targeting the does across the swale from me a ways.
Technical Details
Canon R5, f10, 1/200s, iso 1250, 100-500+1.4tc at 420, widest angle I could get with a range of 420-700mm.
Canon R5, f10, 1/200s, iso 800, 420mm. Cropped for composition. Topaz denoise & sharpen.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Both those images look very good to me. I don’t notice the slight softness you mentioned around the eyes of the second antelope. I have one minor suggestion and that is the brightness of the green in the background of the second image. I would suggest taking down the saturation of it. The first image doesn’t have that issue. I think toning it down would make the buck stand out slightly more.
Ed: I lke both images and don’t see the softness you mention. My only suggestion would be to add more canvas at the bottom of the first image to give a place for the animal’s “virtual feet” to rest.
Ed, I see what you are referencing in the “softness” in the second photo, but think it is not enough to cause concern. It is otherwise a very fine image. The first one is also wonderful, although after you mentioned that you added canvas, upon close examination, I can see that you did. Until you mentioned it, I didn’t notice. An intriguing part of the first is the horns. There is a sort of optical illusion. It looks like both sides grow out of the same side and grow in the same direction. The shadows are playing tricks on me.
Thank you @Willemd I appreciate your discernment on the bright greens in the 2nd image. I selected the BG, cooled the temperature and desaturated it a bit. The sage has kind of a bluish cast, and the green grass in the BG was overpowering it.
Thank you @Richard_Sandor, I didn’t add as much to the bottom as I should have, I was feeling kind of uneasy about adding so much AI to this. I will try it out and see if it feels better.
I appreciate your looking this over for me @Jim_Gavin. I may go back and rework the bottom area of the first image and see what comes out of it. Thank you.
Excellent look at this nice buck! He is tack-sharp, in a nice pose, and with natural environment.
To get more of the grasses in focus, I might have tried F16.
Great as is, though!
