Knee High Snow

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 19, 20172,146 views6 comments

....Knee High to a Moose, that is.
There was actually more snow than appears in this photo. It had been raining there for several days, and the temperature was in the high 30s, so the snow was settling and melting, but as you can see, it was still pretty deep.
There were 2 moose out in an open area by the road. I took the photo from my vehicle window, as we did not want to disturb them. They have a tough life trying to get through deep snow like this. It was in late afternoon, heavy clouds and pouring rain, so there was not a whle lot of light.
Comments and critiques appreciated!!
See the larger image.

5DmkII, 100-400 L at 400 mm, ISO 800, 1-250 sec, f 7.1

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on February 19, 2017 at 9:53 AM

Genny: I like how you've captured the moose in this stark landscape. The dull, grey light really emphasizes the wintry conditions. There's very good detail in the coat and being able to see the eye is big plus. My only minor suggestion would be to crop a bit off the left side. Congrats! Richard

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 23, 2017 at 10:40 AM

Hi Genny,

I like the "starkness" of this image and the snow depth does help convey how life is an on-going struggle for wildlife. Two further comments on the image. First (and this is PURELY personal preference) I find the image a bit too centred (vertically) for my taste. I'd prefer to see a little less foreground and, if you have it, a little more of the white background (to keep the aspect ratio you chose intact). Second, I think just a TAD of additional shadow recovery (or a selective exposure increase) on the darkest parts of the moose might strengthen the image a little more. I'm only talking about a subtle change here...and I'm definitely fine keeping the snow on the gray side (on overcast days snow can definitely be gray!).

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Genny K. on February 23, 2017 at 12:24 PM

Thanks for the comments, guys.
Brad, I was limited on adding any more space on top. There is a snow bank back there, and I went all the way to the top of it. The trees and terrin back there were such that I did not want it in the image.
Frankly, I was happy that the image turned out this good. It was DARK! I had my vehicle lights on, it was pouring down rain, I was stopped on a side road and it was solid ice with water on top. Incredibly slick. I was not sure I was going to be able to get my little 4x4 turned around. The only other person on that road was on a snowmobile!!

Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on February 24, 2017 at 4:08 PM

This is a great winter shot Genny. Looks like one tough animal slogging through that deep snow. The cropping suggestions may be helpful, and I might think about taking both a bit off the top and the left.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Hisham Atallah on February 25, 2017 at 9:44 AM

Hi Genny,

I like the muted tones nd simplicity on this one. The placement in the center doesn't bother me. I also like to feeling of resilience he projects.

Cheers,

Hisham.

Registered on November 5, 2014, 121 Posts, 352 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on February 28, 2017 at 11:47 AM

This composition works for me, but I believe a little more detail in the moose would improve. If you choose to recompose, consider the content aware crop tool in Photoshop to implement Brad's compositional suggestions. I just learned about this feature here in the bird forum and it is amazing.Dave

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments