Standing Tall

Image Critiques Wildlife Critiques
1

TuleBuckonaLog.jpg
TuleBuckonaLog.jpg2000×1491 1.1 MB

TuleMuleyTDS
TuleMuleyTDS2000×1410 958 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This was the smallest of four bucks near the Tule Lake NWR visitor center at to bottom of Sheepy Ridge in Northern California. He decided he wanted to browse in this old tree and found a great rock to prop himself up on. This was one of the clearest shots I got of him, although I did get several others of him browsing. He had the widest set of horns I’ve ever seen on a forked horn mule deer. You can tell from his belly he’s been living well. This was in mid-October a few years back.

Specific Feedback

Lots of brush. Hope it doesn’t detract too much from the buck and his antics. Also, pretty bright conditions and pretty dark shade. I had to work to bring out the details in the shaded areas without blowing out the whites.

Technical Details

  1. Canon 5DMiii, f7.1, 1/1600 sec, iso 800, -0.7 EV, 100-400/1.4TC lens at 348 mm.
  2. f8, 560 mm
1 Like
2

I’m a big fan of half-hidden critter images, Ed, so these work for me. Nice job taming the difficult light. I really like the first with the forelegs on the rock and the antlers so well camouflaged in the brush. The second image feels a little bit contrasty/highly saturated to me, but it might be really difficult to tame.

3

Thanks @Dennis_Plank. I agree with you on the contrasty second image here. It was pretty bright. I’m starting to figure those things out better though both in camera and in post processing. My main objective with the second shot was to show how wide those antlers were for a fork buck.