Dusting

Definately a keeper Vincent.
What an amount of dust she gave you in that display.
The sun on the front of the leg and chest as well as on the trunk, tusks and ears helps a lot. A little on the head would have been nice, but I don't miss it that much.
/johan

I think it is a great image as is. You have captured an extremely effective image of spectacular behavior. Sure the image would have been a little better with golden late evening light streaming in on the subject but you didn't have that option. If you had taken the time to reposition yourself on the other side of the elephant to get better light, if that was even possible, you might have missed the action entirely. In studio/portrait photography you can control the models, lighting and use perfectly placed props and can expect perfect photos. With wildlife you take what you get and make the best of it which I think you did here. I would be very pleased with this shot even if the light is less than perfect. It's definitely a keeper.

Vincent, you took the words right out of my mouth...before I read your take on it, I also wished the light was a different direction, but it certainly doesn't ruin this image. The wave effect on the dirt is freaking awesome in this shot and more than makes up for the light direction. Nice job pulling out the details you have in processing.

Vincent, the dust wave is so cool in this photo that most people would never see the things that you may see wrong with the image. As many elephant photos as I have seen on NPN, I've never seen a dust wave like this. Way to go!

The dust trail is too awesome to not love it. The light on the elephant isnt too bad either. Its not as impressive as some of your other elephant images, but it still isnt "bad light".

The weakest part for me is the sky. Wish it were stormy Having said that, if this were mine, i would be jumping and screaming in joy

Hi Vincent, well I think you hit the nail on the head re the light, but you could still do a lot with it.

It appears to me you have lighted the side, if you have be good to see the original, also a fraction more space at the foot would also of helped. However, I love the trail of dust & soil being blown nice work. Pumping up the colour, say via Lab and giving the image more depth via levels/Curves certainly gives it the punch it needs and certainly it then conveys the potential within the image IMHO.

This with a few tweaks and perhaps combining with the original could well make it into a 'keeper'.

TFS
Steve

Hey Vincent,

The dust trails here are great - you caught that perfectly. It is a shame about the direction of the light, but odds are most viewers would be so focused on the dust they wouldn't notice it. The head region of the elephant, especially around and behind the eye, looks a little unnatural and "over-worked" to me - almost like it should have more shadow there and that you've pulled too much detail out. I'm in agreement with Steve that a tad more space on the bottom would help, but that's a pretty minor thing in an image where there's so much drawing power elsewhere (those great dust trails....).

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Vincent, the composition and dust trail make this shot, enough it could become one of your most successful images! I am in agreement with Brad that the efforts to pull detail from the shadows made for an unnatural effect. I think dark contrasty shadow would work as well (or better) by emphasizing the excellent dynamic composition.

Vincent,

I doubt that I have ever seen such a good "dust cloud" the symetry is remarkable, the Eleohant is clearly a problem and lloks overworked, but I am on my monitor at work in UK.I just wonder if a crop eliminating most ot the elephant may help?

Awesome dust wave, never seen anything this cool. I am little un-easy about the shadowed side, I like being able to see the detail and the eye, but it just doesn't look natural to me. Great job catching the peak of the moment

Ken Archer

Yep, that is so often the case, the one fly in the ointment. However, the great plume of dust the elephant is raising up is such a strong element that it mostly compensates for the lighting situation. Very strong image Vincent, I like it a lot!

Hmmm, thanks for the valuable feedback all. Perhaps the shadow detail recovery is a bit overdone; back to the drawing board...

I agree about the lighting being on the 'wrong' side of the elephant, Vincent. You have tried to brighten the left side, but it seems unnatural. I like the twin parallel trails of dust, though. Very unusual.

I think it's the perfect angle to view this action, great timing Vincent.
The landscape with the water and tree line add interest and overall appeal also.
Nice detail/DOF, engaging image my friend!

Hey Vincent - great shot, definitely a keeper in my book. The shadow recovery is a bit too obvious, but I think that even with the not so ideal light this still works well.

And now for the typical Marsel comment: I'd clone out the piece of brush growing out of the back of the ele because it ruins the shape - makes a huge difference imho.

Very cool line, probably the longest I've seen.