The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My very first ermine! Seen at Lily Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park. So excited - I had my wide-angle lens on the camera to shoot the frozen lake and a couple walked by and asked if we’d seen the ‘ferret’ we just passed. We went back and found the ermine and followed it around (at a distance) until it disappeared.
Specific Feedback
Overall color, whiteness of the animal and detail in the fur.
Technical Details
Fuji X-H2S, 1/2000s, f/7.1, ISO 12800, 468mm
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
If I saw an Ermine in the wild I would probably pass out with excitement! Kudos for getting the picture!! Although he’s looking away, you got the eye, and enough of the paw. I wonder about lower contrast, with more detail in the whites. I don’t know your processing but a linear profile may be a good starting place.
Weasels are so cute your head could explode! I’ve only shot one once although I’ve seen them more often than that. Just so quick! And agile. And all over the place. Great job getting this one being all tall. I like the rocky stage it’s on and that little tail tip is still visible. I wonder what the advantage is of not turning that little bit white like the rest? Looks like there might be detail in the whites you could pull out - a Linear Profile might just do the trick. If you are unfamiliar, search here on NPN for it and there is a thread…I think either I or Diane started it. Anyway…bravo on your gorgeous little critter.
@Kris_Smith Thankfully nothing exploded… I read the black tail tip is to confuse any predators that might be chasing them in the snow. I will try the Linear Profile, thanks!
How cute is this little guy! I have read that ermine have their white coats in winter and are brownish on top with a white belly before they moult. I would be too excited to get anything right in camera.
For me, there is just enough detail in the whites, but as Kris and Diane have suggested, a linear profile may pull a bit more.
I’m finding the background a little magenta-ish? I have a new monitor, saw it might just be me.
It’s a frustrating situation when you need a high SS, as the high ISO limits dynamic range some – but I don’t know how much it matters in the real world, for whites being more blown out. But I think I may try a test with my rig. (If I ever saw an ermine I’m sure I would be too excited to get anything, but I do large white birds occasionally.) It’s worth remembering to underexpose a little, as the metering will give most weight to the BG unless you take time to switch to spot metering. NR is so good these days that darks are usually recoverable, but blown out whites are not.
If you have a histogram in the viewfinder, it can be a pretty good indicator when whites are getting blown out. But keeping it on the 3-channel view is much more accurate as it is usually one channel that is the problem.
I hope you get a chance to stalk these guys again!! Super exciting!
@Diane_Miller It’s a lot to remember when you are running back down the trail to look for a ‘ferret’ and changing lenses at the same time because you were supposed to be shooting landscapes and hunting a weasel in the poor light after sunset…
I do have a histogram in the viewfinder, but it was a frantic few minutes.
No criticism intended – I would never have gotten off a single shot!
If the linear gradient didn’t make a difference, then you have good tonal overhead. I don’t remember your processing, but maybe pulling down the Highlights slider in ACR/LR or equivalent raw converters could give a squeak more detail in the whites. Your histogram looks perfect so it’s just a matter of visual balance. I think the issue may be that in nature we would see more detail in the ermine and less contrast with the BG, so I tend to understate whites a little in a scene like this. But here the drama of this little guy, who we know is going to bolt in a millisecond, is a good factor to bias toward.
@Diane_Miller No criticism taken The whites on the right shoulder are just flat white in the original. I’m okay with this, I’ve tried a number of things and can’t get it looking better. I’d rather have an ermine with a bit too much white than no ermine at all. I’ll try to remember this in the future though.
The whites on the right shoulder are just flat white in the original. I’m okay with this, I’ve tried a number of things and can’t get it looking better. I’d rather have an ermine with a bit too much white than no ermine at all. I’ll try to remember this in the future though.