Alpha

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 3, 2011147 views11 comments

I shot this image of the Alpha Chacma Baboon late one afternoon on the riverbank of the Sabie River in South Africa. I like the intense stare the baboon gave me and the partial side lighting. Although th ebody position is not symmetrical I decided to centre the head.

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/1000
Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
Metering Mode Partial Metering
ISO Speed 1250
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM
Focal Length 500.0mm

Your crits and suggestions are always highly appreciated.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 3, 2011 at 6:56 AM

I don't see wings?

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on September 3, 2011 at 9:06 AM

Hi Neal: Pretty cool portrait of this Baboon. I'll be moving it over to the Wildlife gallery. Keith

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on September 3, 2011 at 7:37 PM

Those are some intense eyes and I like the crumbs on the mouth. Adds character. The bedhead hair is great too. I think the center placement works well with this type of eye contact.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 4, 2011 at 8:35 AM

Hi Neal,

The eyes are great and you've captured nice detail here. I like the directional lighting as well. I think the centred composition works just fine here. On my monitor the image looks a tad on the bright side - with this kind of lighting I think if you cut back on the exposure a little (maybe 1/2 stop) and did some selective contrast work (particularly in the head region) this image would REALLY pop. If the image were mine I'd probably tone down that background a little as well...seems a bit too "powerful" currently.

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on September 4, 2011 at 1:42 PM

Cool portrait Neal. I like that hair style, those bright orange eyes and the warm light. I would suggest to darken the BG a little though and increase the midtone contrast on the baboon a bit to make this even stronger.

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

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on September 4, 2011 at 1:59 PM

Hey Neal,
I love the portrait and the bed head! Comp works fine for me too. I am with Brad on the brightness......so just a small tone down will put this over the top! An easy tweak to a very nice image!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 4, 2011 at 3:59 PM

Certainly is an imposing stare Neal...I'm with Howard that this could have been a "gargoyle" or something if there were wings

.

Some good suggestions for tweaking the most out of this image by Brad and Vincent...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 4, 2011 at 4:50 PM

Great look at that face, especially the eyes. I agree a slight reduction in exposure would make it even nicer.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by James Campbell on September 5, 2011 at 3:35 AM

Hi Neal, the light is great - it really brings out his eyes and the dappled background is awesome. And just enough space on top to make it a cover shot!! All round well captured

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

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on September 5, 2011 at 5:18 PM

That is one spooky intense stare!!
Good portrait and exposure.

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on October 18, 2011 at 3:59 AM

Wow Neal! The more I look through your gallery the more I realise how many of your images I've missed and much I love your work. I must make sure to visit your gallery more often, many thanks for sharing and making me smile :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments