Taking the long road alone

[K_Wolo (K Wol)]

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

The thing I find about bison in elk island are that while finding them isnt difficult, and the act of photographing isnt difficult either as they know their place and the place of the photographer when it comes to threat. That leads an animal that is quite sedentary unless threatened. So that act of taking photos is not difficult, but more composing a photo and catching the subject at the moment when they act in a way that adds to the story. (this is just my opinion).

Specific Feedback

I’m open to any feedback, but I’m going back and forward over composition in regards to the signs in the backround.

On one hand I do get the feeling that it draws my eye away from the rest of the photo, but on the other hand Im torn that it adds to the story and creates flow from the bison and then down the road to give a sense of distance.

I also have the same photo but the head turned forwards, and one looking back at me. I chose those this one though because to me its distracted from its journey. The shadows of the bison it was following to me create a sense of motion with its gaze off the side of the road.

I also am wondering if I would have dropped the shutter speed to lower the ISO, how much that would have improved?

Technical Details

Nikon Z8
Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 + 1.4 TC
560mm 1250/sec f/6.3 ISO 2200

photo was edited inLightroom with monochrome red Profile applied.

Denoise and Sharpen were also applied with Topaz

[Robena.Sirett]

It looks like you are new to NPN so welcome! This is an amazing place to learn by sharing and asking for critique and by giving your opinion about others’ photos.

I love the story this tells! It does indeed look like the bison is contemplating the signs and direction to take and also implies the journey of the photographer as the road curves into the distance. Very well done! I appreciate your thoughtfulness in capturing this story.

(I have no problem with any noise in the photo.)

[Gill_Vanderlip]

Very Cool Photo !!! Really good depth of field selection. The Bison is sharp and background goes soft. Your eyes go right to the animal. Maybe a slight vignette would be interesting. And maybe not. Really nice in black and white.

[Mike_Friel]

I love the tonalities. And I love how the tail flick balances the mournful look. The road before and after adds to the sense of a long journey. Maybe a slight CCW rotation is all I would suggest. Very nice, and welcome!

[Diane_Miller]

Interesting as is but you have a very nice pose and light on the bison. I think you could have an alternative crop eliminating the signs and some of the lower part of the road.

I see when I enlarge the image fully (by clicking twice) there are some strange artifacts. I wonder if they are from less than optimal NR – OR – it appears you have posted a full-sized image but maybe with a huge JPEG compression to reduce the file size? If so, that has caused some major issues. It’s best to post something like roughly 2000 px on the long size but with good quality compression. (100% is not really needed.)

[JRajput]

Hello @K_Wolo !
I just love B&W! Having worked in traditional Darkroom (chemical one), black & whites fascinate me alot.
I like your B&W conversion with some nice tones and Topaz has done a nice job, bur you need to check for artifacts. Foreground road needs a crop but that will make the image pano and if you remove the LHS road, it may reduce some distractions.
The road signs are not really welcome, you may burn them and they’ll be less noticeable.
If this was mine, I would do something like this…

PS. Please don’t mind, I’ve taken liberties with your image!

[Merv (Mervin Rosenquist)]

@K_Wolo

I’m open to any feedback, but I’m going back and forward over composition in regards to the signs in the backround.

On one hand I do get the feeling that it draws my eye away from the rest of the photo, but on the other hand I’m torn that it adds to the story and creates flow from the bison and then down the road to give a sense of distance.

HI K Wol,

I’m really drawn to your Bison image! I think you have captured a winning composition with a great pose, everything from the direction he is looking to the tail flick is awesome in my view.
It appears that he has very recently took a dip into a nearby water hole to cool off and to get a drink of water, the wet hair adds a lot to the story for me.

As for the signs, yeah, it’s kind of a “Six on One Hand -vs- Half a Dozen on the Other”
I wanted to see how your image would come across if you had removed the signs, as an “Alternate View” just for kicks.

And, I can’t help but feel that the OOF curved road by itself provides depth and the sense of distance, the signs in my view are only for us humans, although, the Bison may have learned how to interpret them?

BTW, the artifacts mentioned come across to me as “Heat Waves” rising above the hot pavement rather than a processing issue but that’s just the way I see it.

Here’s an alternate view for comparison, of course it’s all up to you, I’m only offering something for you to consider. And to be clear, I feel that the signs can stay or go, either way, it’s a striking image.
The edit was done mostly by cloning with a smooth edged brush at about 30% opacity, I suppose you could easily use the Remove Tool in Ps with very similar results.
I did do a little clean up on the road and removed a few tiny spots on the Bison, and I used a Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer to add just a smidge of Black Point while in the Black Color Selection, this added a touch more definition to the highlights IMHO.

And for a second “Alternate View”, I used another Solid Color Fill Adjustment Layer" to add just a touch of Yellow and a touch of Red while in the Neutral Color Selection just to add a bit of Sepia Tint, again, it was just to see how it might come across with a little hint of old fashioned slightly warming sepia color.

And the original below so you can switch between the original and the alternates, it’s just an easier way to compare the different versions.

Again, it’s an awesome capture, I feel that it captures the very essence of life for Bison living in a Protected Environment!

[K_Wolo (K Wol)]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really appreciate it. While im excited about all the different ideas, I am more than excited for the points that can be used in the future.

Thanks Again