Damn The Flies

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 5, 2010150 views7 comments

Yes, another rework of some of my earlier digital work.
Shooting the big five in Africa was one of my initial goals on Safari and the Cape Buffalo proved to be the most difficult and elusive of all.

Canon D30 Canon 400 2.8 w/2ex. Iso 400 1/750th @ f8

Thanks for looking.
Comments always welcome.
Neil

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by James Campbell on May 5, 2010 at 12:17 PM

I always find these mega close ups really impressive.. I think a slightly more direct look and more equeal symmetry would make this work better. But very cool nonetheless

Registered on January 12, 2009, 48 Posts, 377 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on May 5, 2010 at 2:55 PM

They sure are not the easiest subjects indeed Neil and also one to respect as they can get very agitated without any apparent reason. I like the extreme close-up and the detail with those flies on its nose. The catchlight in the eye also helps a lot. More symmetry would make the composition stronger though and maybe in a quest to achive that now you could crop tighter by getting rid of the nose and shift the focus onto the eyes entirely.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 5, 2010 at 7:35 PM

IMHO this is a very strong image, but I would go along with trying it with the partial nose cropped out. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Onno de Rover on May 6, 2010 at 7:13 AM

Dagga Boy (old Buff Bull) I like the picture, almost monochrome except for the algea growing on the boss. I agree with the previous comments about not being totally centred but maybe you should even "de-centre" it more and give it more curl of the horn on the right. And then have a llok at the nose.

Registered on December 29, 2009, 38 Posts, 63 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Gomez on May 6, 2010 at 3:09 PM

Funny title! The look on the buffalo's face seems to say exactly that. Lol. Great decision on the f/8. I like the DOF you chose. Great shot!

Registered on March 3, 2007, 206 Posts, 1853 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on May 7, 2010 at 7:54 AM

Hi Neil,

What's that saying? A face only a mother could love? I guess the flies love it too!

I think this is a strong image as posted - tho' one where it would be easy to play with the crop endlessly. I like the inclusion of the edge of the nose compositionally, but wish it were a little sharper (looks to me like it's falling just outside your region of sharpest DOF). Where's that f11 when you need it? Regarding going more (or less) symmetrical: tough call to make without seeing the full frame shot. I'm leaning towards staying slightly asymmetrical...but it would be fun to play with other crops. Sharpness and exposure look great...

Overall - well done! Does this mean you did managed to capture all of the big 5?

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on May 7, 2010 at 9:26 AM

Thanks for your comments everyone.
This is actually full frame. I've played with the cropping some and, without the nose patch anchor point, a lot of the top to bottom balance is lost, IMO. The symmetry of the five flies just isn't quite right.

Brad,

Does this mean you did managed to capture all of the big 5?

I did capture all five, but "Dagga Boy" was a disappointment and I didn't get this shot until our third trip.

Neil

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments