Dusk in the Mtns II

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 9, 2015126 views10 comments

Thank you for your comments on my vertical comp of a similar image I posted here.

I think I prefer that vertical frame better, both for the overall feel and the killer look the bull was giving me, but there's something about this one that kept it in my favourites folder as well.

I spent several minutes fine-tuning my camera angle to have numerous leading lines/shapes in the background to add some interest/direction to the bull's placement, but I could not get this scene with the bull shifted any further to the left (see next paragraph).

The funky soft grey blotches in the ULC are OOF needles from a pine tree I was under and was pushing the angle as far as I could while trying to avoid it. Despite having plenty of time to perfect the shot, there's no amount of time that will solve what the eye can't see as dusk moved toward twilight and my mid-40's eyes failed me. angel

I tried and alternate crop that removed them, but it took away too much cool character on the left side of the mountain so I decided to leave it full-frame, as presented here.

Interested in your thoughts on this one, and would love to know which one you prefer (link to the vertical provided above).

Thanks in advance...

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Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR
ISO 1600
1/13sec @ f/3.5
+0.7EV
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick
Electronic cable release
Full frame

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Joe James on November 9, 2015 at 10:53 PM

John - I really like this one and other than the OOF twigs in the upper left hand corner you mentioned my only nit would be to have a bit more foreground in the frame. I really like the extrem off-center pose with the mountains in the BG; it certainly says "elk country" at a glance.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on November 10, 2015 at 1:11 AM

I prefer this image because of the antlers' position and the position of the bull on the far right. Perhaps cropping the top to eliminate the needles making it more of a pano might work.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on November 10, 2015 at 6:25 AM

I like the placement of the elk in the horizontal image. His side ways glance at you lets you know he is wary of your presence. Do you know how lucky you are to live in an area with all this wildlife. Again, my personal preference would be to eliminate the sky and crop from the left. It must be nice to have such choices between two great images!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on November 10, 2015 at 10:16 AM

Maybe not as dramatic as the last one, but equally effective. I like the background patterns and the symmetry of the saddle. It does seem like it's cropped a bit tight on the bottom, though your border and watermark are probably contributing to that a bit.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on November 10, 2015 at 10:34 AM

John: I like this one quite a bit and think it could be improved by cropping out the featureless sky. This would leave you with more of a pano which could be changed to your native 3x2 format by cropping some of the left side as well. Either option would place more emphasis on the bull while retaining the environment. The dark band of your copyright makes it seem like the bull is sitting on just a sliver of land. A good one nonetheless, Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on November 10, 2015 at 4:35 PM

The larger image made a difference on how the elk looked in the frame. But I am also going to give a vote for cropping out the sky and some off the left side to put more emphasis on the elk.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 12, 2015 at 8:30 AM

Hi John,

Dream scene you had to work with - and it's great you experimented with some very different approaches to it.

I actually prefer this one over the vertical, largely owing to the more "classic" position/pose of the elk in this one (to me the pose on the previous shot felt a bit "awkward"). I tend to like my subjects very low and "grounded" in the frame, but wonder if this one isn't just a VERY small amount too low (i.e., without quite enough foreground). I see the logic of the crop suggestions offered above, including the removal of the featureless/flat sky (tho' I fully understand the appeal of keeping and showing the full frame shot).

Interestingly (and I'm just being FULLY honest here without any political-correctness moderating my thoughts)...I'm quite torn on the major leading line ridge line pointing at the elk. Of course I see the value of leading lines, but this one almost seems to be TOO prominent and it could be argued it's almost a distraction (almost like "too much of a good thing"??). Just food for thought...and not meaning to be overly picky...obviously we're talking about a strong animalscape here!!

Cheers...thanks for sharing (and looking forward to more...)

Brad

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

Comment posted by Cay-Uwe Kulzer on November 13, 2015 at 8:07 AM

John,

I have been coming back to this picture a few times and haven't figured out what to say about it, until now.

I really like the lines of the mountain rims that lead to the elk. I tend to agree to Brads suggestion to have a bit more of foreground, but that is a bit dificult to evaluate since your copyright logo is placed there. Anyhow in my opinion the image gets more interesting if you would crop the to in such a way that the sky is not seen. That on one hand eliminates the left out of focus needles you mentioned, but more interesting for me is that the leading lines to the elk are stronger emphazised, given the image a more dramatic look, since it gets a more 3D effect.

Registered on January 27, 2004, 494 Posts, 4021 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 14, 2015 at 8:15 PM

Beautiful shot John, I prefer this one over the first one but I do think you need a bit more room at the bottom. devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on November 15, 2015 at 5:07 AM

John,
A bit late on this, great pose!
I afree with the suggestions about a little more room at he bottom.
What a sighting!

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments