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    they got the sea lion
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May 30, 2021 05:12
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drat that's amazing. I just flashed on a childhood memory -- when I was about 10 my parents took me to Alaska for a couple of weeks one summer. We were on a ferry to Cordova or somewhere kind of southeast Alaska. This pod of orca swam right at the boat. My dad had some unwieldy camera, maybe Nikkormat or maybe a 6006 and a crappy Tamron 75-300 mf lens and between the camera and the boat moving he couldn't really get a photo. I had a plastic Kodak click camera that took those old little 110 cassettes so you just press then advance to the next shot. I somehow got a photo that's basically just orca blowhole just as it dove under the boat. I just went looking for that photo and I can't find it now. I remember I was so proud of it I got several printed and somehow in all my 10yo handling of the negatives it got scratched so there's a funny squiggle on the photos.
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May 30, 2021 05:42
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That’s sweet. Would love to see that blowhole pic. I was super jealous when I saw how close the whales were to that boat yesterday but I am not a terribly experienced in the water and probably would have panicked somehow.
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May 30, 2021 14:16
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Speaking of water, ... I love snorkeling, and on one of my trips to Guam, I was out in the water, just having a really amazing time. It was in a spot where they built an underwater observatory that water-shy tourists can walk into to observe the marine life. I can only assume that they feed the fish in an effort to keep them around, because (1) the place was packed with fish, (2) they all stared at me in expectation of something while also being really close to me, and (3) one of the smaller ones (half the size of my palm) actually bit me. In my usual style I arrive at 6:30am, when I still have the entire place to myself, I swim out, and I enjoy the scenery: coral, fish, not another soul in the water. Everything is super peaceful, when all of a sudden, like lightning, the fish scatter. I didn't see anything in front of my, so I turn around, and sure enough a (harmless to me) reef shark had entered the area. It was one of the most amazing sights.   
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May 30, 2021 15:18
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Nice, yeah, Fisheye is a good shallow dive and those black tip reef sharks like to hang out and shelter around there. The reef fish get fed by both tourists and the facility so yeah you probably got bit by someone expecting food. There was also a chunky barracuda that lived around there when I moved, too. Used to hover around and watch me when I was out taking pictures.
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Jun 5, 2021 09:59
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 Jack Peeking by B. B., on Flickr
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Jun 6, 2021 22:26
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   pog seal 
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Jun 7, 2021 23:18
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It's a nice day, so I've been sitting out in the garden seeing what I can find. Mostly insects! I got some pictures of this butterfly (cabbage-white).  Bit blurry, but it's a butterfly, fucker doesn't stop moving.  I'm shocked these turned out as well as they did.  I got one shot of this completely ordinary fly. Flies are wildlife.  Plenty of photos of bees, not many of them usable.  Love a good bee.   A shieldbug, aka UK stinkbug (mildly unpleasant odor bug, no relation to American flying skunks)  And then there's this, which I have no idea what it is. From my bug-ignorant research it seems like it's probably some kind of soldier beetle, but I can't even be confident about that. Anyone know their British bugs?
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Jun 9, 2021 13:35
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There's a really good book on British Bees: Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland (Bloomsbury Wildlife Guides) However I think I'm now less certain on identification once you realise how many types there are! But I do now appreciate the wider variety I come across (including really small ones I would have overlooked before). I don't have a good beetle book.
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Jun 9, 2021 15:28
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DUCKLING CUTE AS poo poo DUCKLING  DUCKLING AND DUCK MAMA 
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Jun 13, 2021 18:15
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A mountain goat on Mt. Ellinor. There was an interesting removal effort a couple years ago as the goats are non-native to the Olympics.
SuicidalSmurf fucked around with this message at 01:52 on Jun 18, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 01:47
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Jesus thats a cool photo. A ragged rear end looking goat on the top of a mountain above the clouds ... with a loving smirk on its face like "try me"
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Jun 18, 2021 02:14
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Verman posted:Jesus thats a cool photo. A ragged rear end looking goat on the top of a mountain above the clouds ... with a loving smirk on its face like "try me" I'm sure you're aware, but they've killed people in the past and have led to closures of the trail before. This dude was really a bit closer than I'd like but there wasn't much room to avoid on the summit. He rolled up in a group of 3.
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Jun 18, 2021 02:24
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Yeah, Ive seen some of the goats being airlifted by helicopter which was weird. I recall the report of the guy getting gored to death when it headbutt him in the stomach. Ive encountered goats in a few different places but the enchantment goats give no fucks and are pretty aggressive. Goat rocks goats traveled in a pretty big group and just stayed away from people up high. They came down at night but vanished quickly when the sun came up.
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Jun 18, 2021 02:28
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Huh, the mountain goats I've encountered in the Colorado Rockies have been very chill and didn't seem to be fazed by humans at all. This guy wandered over to my campsite and just munched on grass and hung around 20 yards away at times. Don't get me wrong, I definitely give wildlife ample room and am fully aware that even a whitetail deer can severely gently caress up your day. Wonder why the Enchantment goats are particularly aggressive in comparison to what I've seen.
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Jun 18, 2021 10:10
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charliebravo77 posted:Huh, the mountain goats I've encountered in the Colorado Rockies have been very chill and didn't seem to be fazed by humans at all. This guy wandered over to my campsite and just munched on grass and hung around 20 yards away at times. Don't get me wrong, I definitely give wildlife ample room and am fully aware that even a whitetail deer can severely gently caress up your day. Wonder why the Enchantment goats are particularly aggressive in comparison to what I've seen. Yeah the ones I've seen in the Canadian rockies are pretty nonplussed about tourists taking photos of them eating lunch and will wander through town sometimes. Goats will knock heads with stuff just for fun though, so I wouldn't want to surprise one. (lovely photo btw. You can feel the atmosphere in it) Finger Prince fucked around with this message at 12:57 on Jun 18, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 12:55
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Obviously the proximity to Seattle has an effect on how angsty a goat is.
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Jun 18, 2021 13:42
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xzzy posted:Obviously the proximity to Seattle has an effect on how angsty a goat is. Over caffeinated.
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Jun 18, 2021 19:31
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 Mountain Lion by CmdrKittens, on Flickr Hippo by CmdrKittens, on Flickr
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Jul 5, 2021 04:42
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You can forgive his look when you realize he's getting the stink-eye from his wife. I always look awkward in photos by B. B., on Flickr Not Amused by B. B., on FlickrThis is not the critter that is the mortal enemy of my German Shephard, but it is a cousin that lives down the road.  Posing by B. B., on Flickr Needs a Manicure by B. B., on Flickrtorgeaux fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Jul 23, 2021 |
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Jul 15, 2021 21:08
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I am in Kenya for 6 weeks and had my first chance really shooting wildlife. Was wondering what I could do to improve my shots for my next time I get to do a game drive in about 2 weeks. I tried to get a mix of environmental shots and closer in portraiture but am totally out of my depth on how to improve my shots.     
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Jul 29, 2021 16:58
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Swarmin Swedes posted:I am in Kenya for 6 weeks and had my first chance really shooting wildlife. Was wondering what I could do to improve my shots for my next time I get to do a game drive in about 2 weeks. I tried to get a mix of environmental shots and closer in portraiture but am totally out of my depth on how to improve my shots. I would hang pretty much any of these on my wall if I had taken them. Main suggestion would be to work on lighting. Pay attention to where the sun/light is and try to get more front lit subjects (put yourself between the sun and your subject). I’m sure there are lots of resources out there from people whose main wildlife experience isn’t backyard birds that would have some good tips. quote:Stop down the aperture a bit to get a larger focal plane. Focus is behind the cat a bit and the tree is a bit too blurry for how much weight it has in the image. There’s a distracting little spot on the right (insect?) that could be cloned out. quote:Nice composition. If you could, move the sun a little bit further back to get some more light on their backs. Think focus is a bit in front of the elephants as well. quote:My main complaint here is that it’s not as bright compared to the previous two. I would try to edit them so the three are consistent. quote:I find vertical images are hard to present, so I may have zoomed out more to try a square or just less tall crop. quote:I like it. Would maybe like see this taken a little lower to get more of the eyes. quote:Cool scene. Lighting is a bit of a mess.
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Jul 29, 2021 18:06
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The elephant one suffers from the white sky. A mono conversation is often more forgiving to blown out skies. Overall, if that's your first attempt at nature photography, it's a strong starting point.
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Jul 29, 2021 18:28
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The one of the cheetah jumping down the tree is epic. Nothing you can do about harsh noon light but the light on the cat is perfect and you caught some good action. The bushes are kind of a mess, but again, noon light. I'd print and hang it with no second thoughts. Would love to see a B&W conversion of it too, that can tame some of the chaotic spots.
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Jul 29, 2021 18:38
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I agree with TK on this. They're super photos and most of the areas of improvement are shooting in mid-day light and not being at eye level. Maybe play with some dehaze on the first three. The elephants are really nice but maybe play with cropping it in a little more? I like animal-in-landscapes a lot. Somehow the balance between subject and landscape in this one isn't totally doing it for me and I can't put my finger on exactly why. Like it's a bit in no-mans-land between the relationship of the elephants dominating the scene and it being an interesting landscape with the elephant pair as an element in the landscape For the vertical, I don't know if there's a way to crop so that the tree is a smidge more to the left with a little more open space to the right? The bloody-mawed cheetahlet is super cute. Maybe try to shift it a little more to the upper right so there's more space in front of its eyes. This might get rid of the out of focus grass piece on the far right, and you might give it a shot to carefully clone out the other out of focus one. They really aren't that distracting and there's something to be said for leaving all the environmental elements in but if you're asking... But again, these are very picky notes on fantastic photos.
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Jul 29, 2021 18:44
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Thanks for all the great pointers totally agree the lighting was an absolute mess for most of them. I definitely struggled some with framing/getting that right mix of environment and animals.
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Jul 29, 2021 19:12
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xzzy posted:The one of the cheetah jumping down the tree is epic. Nothing you can do about harsh noon light but the light on the cat is perfect and you caught some good action. The bushes are kind of a mess, but again, noon light. I'd print and hang it with no second thoughts. I hate that bush with a burning passion it’s so ugly and out of place but absolutely nothing I could do and tried to edit it in a million ways to get it to look decent to no avail. I also felt super limited because I had the sigma 150-600mm on there and ideally wanted to get the top of the tree in the frame but didn’t want to miss him jumping down while switching lenses. I do have a black and white conversion of him jumping out of the tree though (I am totally poo poo at B&W conversion). 
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Jul 29, 2021 19:16
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Swarmin Swedes posted:I am in Kenya for 6 weeks and had my first chance really shooting wildlife. Was wondering what I could do to improve my shots for my next time I get to do a game drive in about 2 weeks. I tried to get a mix of environmental shots and closer in portraiture but am totally out of my depth on how to improve my shots. Honestly I love the lighting in this. It's like a Renaissance painting. If you have the luxury, like if it's already cropped, possibly a little wider shot to get more of the surroundings in could work, but for something not staged or posed, this is excellent. The cheetah and tree is great, personally I would crop just a little of the right side of the image to make the tree and cat equidistant from the edges. I don't think you'd ever get the tree sharp even with a bigger focal plane, just because of heat haze. Taking shots of wild animals in wild environments, I think the key thing is first of all, get the shot. Frame it as well as you can, if you've got a zoom, get a few wide and a few zoomed shots, and then crop mercilessly once you have the time to get the framing right. It's what has worked for me.
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Jul 29, 2021 19:26
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Swarmin Swedes posted:I am in Kenya for 6 weeks and had my first chance really shooting wildlife. Was wondering what I could do to improve my shots for my next time I get to do a game drive in about 2 weeks. I tried to get a mix of environmental shots and closer in portraiture but am totally out of my depth on how to improve my shots. That's a start. A lot of people use all the zoom all the time on their first drives. I like mixing wide, mid, and tight shots when possible. The difference between a lion in a zoo and a safari is context. Some of my favorite shots include the safari vehicles, the guides, sun poking through the trees etc. It helps show the adventure as a whole vs just animals but that could be a whole other discussion (wildlife vs landscape vs photojournalism. etc). I also much preferred the evening drives as the light was much better as the sun was setting. Morning or afternoon drives with full sun are a bit harsh and animals are usually pretty chill at those times. For long zoom shots, a monopod in the vehicle was incredibly helpful in terms of stability. I could put it between my feet in the floor or shorten it up and put it between my legs on the seat. Also, it sounds like fundamentals but focus on not over exposing. With the long zoom lengths, some action, and the feeling of fomo during opportunistic moments, etc, it's easy to bump iso to try and not get blur but be careful to still get a good exposure. I struggled with that balance the first drive of my trip. I dialed it in later that day by shooting relatively conservatively histogram wise. With that harsh morning and mid day sun it can happen really easily. Shooting raw and avoiding clipping the highs is key. Always easier to pull info from the shadows. Like I said, it sounds really "well duh, photography 101" but a safari is a tricky photo experience and revisiting the basics and determining your priorities is never a bad thing.
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Jul 29, 2021 19:50
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 DSC03541 by Enver Hoxha, on Flickrenjoyed the sunrise with these guys 
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Jul 29, 2021 20:36
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I could provide more feedback but as some one who hasn't yet made it to Africa and is thus jealous, instead I shall just say: gently caress you. Your pictures are poo poo. Go home and let me take your place.
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Jul 29, 2021 21:37
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Swarmin Swedes posted:I hate that bush with a burning passion it’s so ugly and out of place but absolutely nothing I could do and tried to edit it in a million ways to get it to look decent to no avail. I also felt super limited because I had the sigma 150-600mm on there and ideally wanted to get the top of the tree in the frame but didn’t want to miss him jumping down while switching lenses. I think the B&W tames the bush pretty well. Maybe dork around with localized contrast adjustments? As someone else said, some negative dehaze can help too (which is also a contrast adjustment, but it's magic). But drat I'd be ecstatic if I caught that shot, bush or no bush. It's so nice to look at the vertical aspect doesn't bug me at all.
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Jul 30, 2021 04:35
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Honestly the action plays perfectly into a vertical format. Zoomed out might have been more preferred but the shot you got is better than missing it altogether. I would have been ecstatic to see cats in action, most of the cats I saw were laying around.
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Jul 30, 2021 06:01
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The cheetah tree photo is good, if that bush bugs you I would try playing with the sharpen masking so it's not so visually distracting.
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Jul 30, 2021 07:33
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That b&w with top to bottom action works well, yeah.
tk fucked around with this message at 13:14 on Jul 30, 2021 |
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Jul 30, 2021 13:12
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xzzy posted:The one of the cheetah jumping down the tree is epic. Nothing you can do about harsh noon light but the light on the cat is perfect and you caught some good action. The bushes are kind of a mess, but again, noon light. I'd print and hang it with no second thoughts. In the interests of pedantry, that's a leopard. Cheetahs have plain spots; leopards have rosettes.
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Jul 30, 2021 13:54
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hey guys, please welcome our special guests CCs own Thunderdome to the Dorkoom. They're looking for photos for writing prompts so please help them out! Thunderdome thread this way!
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Aug 2, 2021 09:33
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Got a few shots yesterday that I think work decently, I got much better lighting in the morning which helped out a ton. On both of these I am still struggling to get the horizon level because the foreground and background was all sort of wonky. Additionally the first one I am not sure how I like the color grading especially the mountains in the back. 
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Aug 6, 2021 15:01
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I dig the second one, it's a good mix of context and animals. Something is up with the colors though. If it looked like that in person I guess you got an excuse to leave it but as a distant observer it feels like there's way too much saturation. It's all rich blues and golds and nothing else.
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Aug 6, 2021 17:48
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Yeah it feels artificially over saturated and hard yellow/blue. If that's how it looked then it is what it is but it almost feels like white balance is off or some sliders got pushed too far Nice photos though, I like the context.
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Aug 6, 2021 18:30
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