The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
According to the Texas Invasive Species Institute, Barbary sheep, or aoudads, were introduced to the USA in the 1900s. Back then, they were mostly exotic animals kept in private land and zoos. By the middle of the 20th century, aoudads were released “into the wild” causing their increase in number. The increased number has become a cause for concern. Aoudads are causing problems for native species in Texas, such as mule deer and bighorn sheep. They share the same habitat and compete for food. Here is a statement from the Texas Invasive Species Institute: “Barbary sheep are known to be aggressive and territorial with the ability to climb and evade predators successfully. They also live in packs comprised of mature and immature members allowing a pack size advantage over the native bighorn sheep.” On January 13, 2020, there was an article in The Atlantic regarding aoudads in Texas: “Texas Can’t Quit the Aoudad.” That article brings up some interesting points about the increasing population of aoudads versus bighorn sheep in West Texas. It is worth a reading. The image I share here was made at the Davis Mountains State Park. I especially liked the way the aoudads nearly blended with the grassland…
Specific Feedback
I did not want to remove any of the yuccas across the scene in order to get a cleaner edge. So, I used my cropping judiciously and left some of the green yuccas as they originally appeared. Considering the distance I was at and how quickly the herd was moving, I did not want to wait too long and have the herd more dispersed. Should I have used a faster shutter speed? I’m hoping there is enough distance ahead of the leader of the pack and the left frame. Although I cropped on top and a little on the right side, there was not much else in the original frame on the left side that could be added. I’d have to try GF in PS.
EgĂdio, this a good look at this group of Aoudads in their habitit. They do blend well with the grasses, especially the youngster. The mix of sheep, yucca and grass looks very good. There is a strange lighter spot near the bottom of the rock by the rightmost sheep, that looks like an processing artifact. Also, in the larger view parts of the sheep are blurred and small hightlight are blown.
Mark, thank you for the feedback and detailed comments. You definitely caught something I had totally missed. I went back to the RAW file and saw the same lighter spot near the rock. It is not an artifact, but I can’t clearly say what it might be. The only thing that comes to mind is possibly a large dried-up blade of cacti near the rock or the broken face of another rock. I think this is the area you are referring to. Regardless of what it is, I agree it is distracting. I will fix that.
I believe the blurred sheep comes from their motion and my shutter speed. The blur effect I mentioned in my notes was applied very lightly only to some parts of the grass.
Are the blown highlights in the lighter parts of the grasses and the sheep’s hind legs? I am having a difficult time visualizing it even when I look at the histogram in LR.
A nice find and interesting story about these things. It doesn’t look tack sharp but if it was hot you could expect some softening from thermal mixing. The histogram is just touching the right edge – pull up a curve or levels and hold Alt/Opt and pull the right slider left and you will see blown areas shown. Not a huge issue but easy to see and fix. I like the camouflage aspect of the picture behind the specs – I assume that is the unadjusted raw. I think you could back off the contrast and saturation in the final version, just a little. That would take care of the highlight issue.
I think the environment makes a good story but I see an alternate crop, taking a little off the top and left.
I would never have expected to find something like this in TX. Reminds me of the time we spotted a herd of camels in northern Australia and thought we were hallucinating from the heat.
Diane, thank you for the feedback and suggestions.
You are right about the lack of sharpness. Some of it was due to handholding an extended long lens. Add to that the fact that some of the aoudads were moving at various speeds. I think as my hands shake more, when without a tripod, I really need to kick up the shutter speed.
I’ll follow your suggestions to attempt to fix that problem as well as the saturation. It is interesting to note that in LR, the histogram is showing a pretty classic Bell curve.
Actually, that is the same as the real photo but with only 30% saturation and 75% brightness.
@Mark_Seaver and @Diane_Miller , thank you again for taking the time to critique and offer very helpful suggestions. I did content-aware fill to eliminate that distraction near the rock and also pull back on saturation. The blown highlights did seem to vanish. The only thing I cannot fix is the blur on the small aoudad. Others are not as blurry as that small calf. I attribute that to my handshaking and the aoudad’s fast movement. I’ve uploaded the edited version above.
