The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I really like the intensity of this image and I think this mainly comes from the B&W conversion. I also like the fact that the eyes are so sharp and visible. Also, the sand that has been kicked up seems to give a little feeling of motion to the image.
I wonder if some things could be done to improve the feeling of action and the combat between these two very large and strong animals.
Creative direction
I want this image to portray action and the emotion one gets from the apparent battle between these two very large and strong animals.
Specific Feedback
I would love comments on how I could improve the B&W conversion. Also, I am not very good a fine detail, so if there are some subtle things that I could try, I would love to hear these comments as well. I would certainly love to hear any general comments on things I could do to improve the emotional impact of the image.
Technical Details
Canon R5 handheld
Lens: Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM + adaptor for the R5
Settings: ISO 640, 600mm, 1/5000sec
Basic setting adjustments in LR
Noise reduction using DxO Prime 3
Sharpened in Topaz from PS
edited in PS
background blurred and darkened.
foreground darkened
Eyes brightened and sharpened
cropped to highlight face to face combat
Description
I was on my way out of the Yellowstone after spending 10 days in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs. I had seen 1,000s of bison and I all but ignored this little group. However, as they crossed the road I noticed a few of them starting to spar a little. They were acting very frisky and this quickly got my attention. I was lucky to find a couple sparring at just the right angle and close enough to get snap off a few quick images. Luck definitely was on my side!
Wonderful catch and the B/W looks good to me. I can’t think of anything to add more drama. I’d level the “horizon” beneath their feet. The tops of the animals where the BG is blurred shows a sharp division – you could blur that dividing line. Other than that, I think you have a great moment here!
Thank you @Diane_Miller for your comments! I used the neural depth blur feature in PS Beta to achieve the blur of the bison in the background and I saved the depth map so this should be an easy fix. I am so happy you pointed this out, as I apparently had gotten a little careless.
I don’t understand your comment about leveling the horizon. I have received this suggestion before with another image and I didn’t understand it then either. It isn’t clear to me how anyone would know how to level this image. Can you articulate this for me?
Thank you in advance.
I would level the lines in the dirt at their feet, if you have enough canvas to not lose too much. No way to be sure that ground is really level but the angle is a potential distraction. There is a similar quandary with low-angle shots of shorebirds feeding on a sandy beach, where you want the area in the focal plane to be level, indicating the camera was level. Not exactly the same situation, but analogous.
Thank you @JRajput for your suggestion to crop a little tighter. I added this version above. It seems to me to look very good! You can see the stirred up sand much better which adds extra emotion to the scene.
