The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
From the rut in Sept. 2023 in Rocky Mountain National Park. We followed this bull around for awhile on a cold frosty morning (on the road, not up close).
Specific Feedback
I love the subject but the photo’s not quite ‘there’ for me yet. Different crop? More contrast? More saturation? I’m not sure…
Technical Details
Fujifilm X-T3, 1/500s, f/6.4, ISO 2000, 386mm. It was still pretty dark thus the higher ISO.
Very interesting, with very nice sharpness and detail. I long to see more of the antlers, if you managed to include them. It looks like there was a bright area at the top that you may have been trying to avoid.
The grass caught in it is so much a part of this species and their behavior this time of year so that’s a great story to tell, but I think it might be the way the full rack is cut off that keeps us from really engaging here even with the direct look. I like the contrast between dark and light tones and the somewhat exasperated expression.
I understand what you mean about the image not quite being ‘there’ yet, although, it is very, very close in my humble view.
I actually like the more intimate view of the bust and the grasses that are entangled in its rack, the cut-off portion of the rack doesn’t bother me because if the whole rack were visible, the intimate feel would be diminished but, that’s just my personal opinion.
I downloaded your image and played around with it in Ps for awhile and what I came up with was a mild Orton Effect on everything but the head, grass and central part of the rack, the Orton Effect was to add a mild glow and a little more blur to the BG and the edges of the bust.
Then I cropped it from the right to bring the nose closer to center and to add to the intimate feel, then I added a mild vignette to place more emphasis on the bust.
I did clone the bright spots off of its right nostril for a cleaner look.
And for the final touch, I removed the bright spots in the URC because they were a little distracting for me.
Is it better? I don’t know but it is an alternate version for you to consider.
Bottom line is it’s your image and your vision, I’m just offering an alternative post processing option.
I can imagine how exciting this capture was for you!
Thanks Mervin - I appreciate your comments. I was trying to make it more of an initimate portrait. Your cleanup of the nose made a big difference as did removing the light in the top right. Thanks for doing this, I see where I can improve.
Debbie, what a neat shot. I can imagine that was fun to see and to photograph. I know I would have probably cut the horns off in some of my shots too, getting all excited about what was in front of my lens. I know I have cut wings of birds off when they are acting out and I am excited about the action. I like the improvements that @Merv did.
Debbie: I think that you have captired an important aspect of the rut in which bull elk wind up decorated with grass , leaves etc. I have no additonal suggestions . Nicely done.
A very interesting image, Debbie. I like where Merv was going with his edit. Without the full rack, this may not end up being a great sand-alone image, but sometimes images don’t have to stand alone. As part of a story on Elk in rut, this would have incredible impact.
I think we sometimes lose sight of how images might be used and just view them in isolation. In doing so we can end up throwing away a very valuable image.
