Up close & personal! Photo

Photographer’s Note

This was a very interesting and intriguing situation for me. Taken at the Lion and Rhino park at Muldersdrift, a few kilometers out of Johannesburg, these young Zebra were as tame as a cat or dog! It was absolutely amazing for me. There were a few red buck that were the same in the vicinity. We were on a work function with about 140 people, and there were these Zebra and buck walking amongst everyone. So when I chose my title "Up close and personal" - it is this that I am referring to. It felt wierd, because I visit the national parks occasionally, and there they are very wild and skittish. You would not normally get these animals eating from your hand or nudging you for affection. Hope you enjoy it. For more info on this destination, visit the website www.rhinolion.co.za

Tech: Cropped close, added frame, gaussian blur on background and converted from colour to B&W. Sharpeness and contrast also.

Riz, Motrem has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

zimchris (403) 2004-03-08 15:55

What a wonderful oppertunity to get "up close and personal". Technically everything is good in this shot (in my humble opinion anyway) the only thing is the angle. I cant help wishing that you were a little lower down so that you were along the eye line. That way we would be part of his world rather than looking down into it. You would have also got all of the mane into shot as well.

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bullybeef53 (3231) 2004-03-08 16:04

What can I say , this photograph is absolutely beautiful . The zebra seems to be posing for you . He is not camera shy . I like your frame . I am wondering how you sharpened this photograph ? There are a number of ways to sharpen and which one du you use ? Personally I would like to see him face the camera . This is a wonderful presented photograph and deserve full marks !your story is very nice as well.

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bertolucci (12014) 2004-03-08 16:19

Very nice Judy. Strong composition, I like the close cropness. Due do the coarseness in combination with the b/w graphical patterns it's almost a pop-art piece. I wonder what it looks like when you dither/rasterize this pic. Nicely done. Nice note too.

Georges (11185) 2004-03-08 16:23

Il est pas mignon celui la!!!!
Le N/B ne pouvait que bien allé avec un tel sujet.
La presentation est belle mais dommage pour le haut de la criniere mais cela ne gache pas la photo ce n'est qu'un avis purement personnel.
Bravo Judy

hojper (2830) 2004-03-08 16:32

Welcome to the b&w world of photography! It's a lovely place to play around, I assure you. And just to prove my point, a workshop.
But yours is absolutely wonderful as it is.

[workshop] [compare]

hdl (6737) 2004-03-08 17:35

Love the idea to do this in B&W. The result is very good. Good framing and sharpness.

danb (0) 2004-03-08 17:52

The Guassian blur gives excellent sharp detail in the zebras face, and vivid contrast in the overall picture. Good choice of b&w leads to a great composition. Good work centurion

avigur_11 (21307) 2004-03-09 3:41

Great. This is the second zebra today, and it's beautiful. Zebra is a great subject for b/w composition, and you used this fact in a very clever way. It's sharp, well composed and very very well captured. Nice story.

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henrye (3498) 2004-03-09 4:24

This is great!!! I really like the fact that you chose black and white here. It works really well.

If I can make one small suggestion, the whites can be a bit whiter here. Somebody on this site once pointed out to me that a good black and white photograph contains all the tones, from really white to really black, and I have seen that it actually works. You could therefore have added more contrast, see my workshop to see what I mean.

[2] [workshop] [compare]

bfly (5737) 2004-03-09 15:16

Judy this is really great ...I know my comments are too much from the heart but I loved the framing and angle...I agree about stronger whites and WS of Henrye...
(besides being camera friendly, this zebra looks even proud :)

Jeppe (18623) 2004-03-10 7:43

Very wonderful capture of this fine animal - and I must the B&W work perfect, specially in this case ;-) I like the profile angle you chosen for your shot and the DOF - Very good work Judy - thanks for sharing.

gadinga (606) 2004-03-15 18:12

I love the tension you have created with the cropping. It really creates some beautiful negative spaces. I love the position you have captured here, the way his mane curves away from the camera is stunning. Beautifully done!

bluedolphin (362) 2004-03-28 4:30

I like this photo.Antithesis in colors made a unique result.
Regards from a cloudy Thessaloniki
kostas

charmante (1053) 2004-05-20 4:02

Nice idea of B&W Judy! in this case , I agree with Zimchris, & I think he ( or she ??) is lovely ..the gray background makes him even more live,,!

Motrem (2392) 2004-12-31 17:04

I hear almost its breath so it is the frame! It is a magnificent animal, the definition is excellent, the choice of the B&W becomes to him well. Good shot!

J'entends presque son souffle tellement il est près du cadre! C'est un animal superbe, la définition est excellente, le choix du N&B lui sied bien. Bien fait!