The Nature, Wildlife and Pet Photography Forum - Fine Art Landscape Photography

Moose And Tetons

Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 12:33 AM

Hey Everyone,

This is a shot that I took in the Tetons. It is shot using Roman's HDR method where I exposed the same photo twice, one for shadow and one for light and put them together. I also cloned out a bit of shrubbery around the moose's antler. The question is - does it work? The original photo was taken with a 2 stop filter (thank you, Singh Ray) to help keep the sky in check while photographing the moose.

Anyway - your honest feedback is helpful.

Thanks
James

Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 03:22 AM

Your Origonal:

An edit:

You like?

Roman

Posted By: Jim Garvie

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 12:09 PM

James,
I like this a lot. The composition is very good and the elements are awesome. I like what you did in terms of the HDR effect but I also like what Roman was able to squeeze out of it in his effort. Where I don't like Roman's version is in the sky area. For me, that's always the hardest thing to control in tone-mapping. But the rest of the image really pops in Roman's version.

You have to decide which represents what you were looking for in your original captures. But, overall, this is a very nice image.

Jim

Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 12:12 PM

If I had a full sized version, you would be OK with the sky. Its just hard to edit on a small .jpg.

Roman

Posted By: Jim Garvie

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 02:24 PM

True. Wasn't sure what you were working from.

Jim

Posted By: glamson

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 02:58 PM

Quote:

Your Origonal:

James:
I agree with Roman that the mountains need to pop more. However I also agree with Jim that the sky in Roman's looks over processed and maybe just a little over saturated overall. I also think it could stand a touch of sharpening. Here is my edit on the low res jpg incorporating these ideas.

Roman's edit:

Posted By: Tony Bynum

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/15/10 04:26 PM

nice shot, i only wish i had been there to "shoot" that moose . . .

Posted By: Marie Mitchell Photography

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/20/10 11:58 AM

Ok, for what its worth, I love the version of PP that Roman did.
James-wonderful shot! What time of day was this?

Posted By: Sunstruck

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/20/10 04:14 PM

I like both Roman and George's edits. I would like to see what Roman's looks like large. I don't like the halos that are often seen in HDR, my HDR attempts are horrid, only good for the recycling bin.

Posted By: RomanJohnston

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/21/10 02:47 PM

Yeah...you know the drill. Do you have a large copy you don't mind me editing?

Roman

Posted By: jackiejay

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/21/10 07:00 PM

Beautiful pic:)

Posted By: Ty H

Re: Moose And Tetons - 10/22/10 09:02 PM

Gorgeous shot. James, I think I like your edit the best. The colors look natural, which jives well with nature photography. I like Roman's edit too, but the color is just a little too saturated for my taste.

Moose scare the crap out of me. Sooo big.

Posted By: Darren Rowley

Re: Moose And Tetons - 11/02/10 06:30 AM

I really like this photo. Great shot. I disagree that the mountains need the level of POP that has been mentioned. Too much pop takes the depth and distance out of the picture. In the real world the distant mountains are going to be a little subdued and appear a little flat because of haze or, as in this case, harsh mid day light. Us photographers hate that real world fact. I know I'm guilty of over processing the distant objects and try bring more contrast to distant objects that probably should be left alone.

While I do agree the the mountains need a little work. I attempted to I give more saturation and contrast to the trees to bring out more of the yellow, and then lighten the shadows to bring more of the focus to the real star of the shot; the moose. I did a few curve and saturation adjustments on the mountains just enough to take out most of the affects of the harsh light.