LHG Creative Photography
Mandarin duck pair (Uk feral) LDR
Just trying to stylistically emulate something of the feelings a wildlife painting such as can be found on antique plates etc bring.
Its a two shot LDR, both focused independantly for the male and the female duck, (framed the same, but with focus spot shifted, and taken about a half second apart) then layered up using three different tonemap styles, selectively sharpened and blurred, and given a lot of hand touching in photoshop.
I like the effect , but I'm not so keen on some of the colour impurities, most of which were caused by light fringing which is defying all correction in my mouldy old version of pshop elements 3. Ho hum.
Anyway , on the composition I was trying something a little different. Perhaps just knowing nod to the nature of cryptic camouflage. A mandarin ducks form is often intentionally portrayed as starkly clear, at odds with is surroundings, a centre focus of obvious beauty. But the fact is, if thats how they appeared to their predators they wouldnt live too long, so while the clarity is there I deliberately let the form become a little melded. I find one of the biggest challenges about wildlife photography is finding an "appropriate " sense of portrayal. Something that gives an "inbetween-the-lines" hint about the nature and the life of the animal. I like my portrayal to come with a touch of feel and allegory. Its always worth giving a moments thought to. After all I already did the straight shot fairly successfully, can't keep doing everything the same even if its on a theme.
Something about the water quality, the asian duck theme, and the "ibelin" instrumental from the kingdom of heaven soundtrack ive had on a loop for about the past hour really makes me drift away with this one. Always did love a bit of harry gregson williams. I'm off in the forest hills of asia right now in my mind, pans of misty mountains, lush temperate forest, magnolias, cherry blossom, maples illuminating the valleys below, rain on leaves etc, a frog hit by rain dives into a forest coloured pool in slow mo, one of these guys scuttling through a rocky stream bed, perhaps popping a mating call and a head fringe, shallow focus zoom out to a mantis wiping rain from its antennae . Smell the air. Then that bit at 1min 22, I can imagine a tiger and waterbuck running though reeds and shallows in slowmo. Gorgeous.
An imagination is a good thing.
Mandarin duck pair (Uk feral) LDR
Just trying to stylistically emulate something of the feelings a wildlife painting such as can be found on antique plates etc bring.
Its a two shot LDR, both focused independantly for the male and the female duck, (framed the same, but with focus spot shifted, and taken about a half second apart) then layered up using three different tonemap styles, selectively sharpened and blurred, and given a lot of hand touching in photoshop.
I like the effect , but I'm not so keen on some of the colour impurities, most of which were caused by light fringing which is defying all correction in my mouldy old version of pshop elements 3. Ho hum.
Anyway , on the composition I was trying something a little different. Perhaps just knowing nod to the nature of cryptic camouflage. A mandarin ducks form is often intentionally portrayed as starkly clear, at odds with is surroundings, a centre focus of obvious beauty. But the fact is, if thats how they appeared to their predators they wouldnt live too long, so while the clarity is there I deliberately let the form become a little melded. I find one of the biggest challenges about wildlife photography is finding an "appropriate " sense of portrayal. Something that gives an "inbetween-the-lines" hint about the nature and the life of the animal. I like my portrayal to come with a touch of feel and allegory. Its always worth giving a moments thought to. After all I already did the straight shot fairly successfully, can't keep doing everything the same even if its on a theme.
Something about the water quality, the asian duck theme, and the "ibelin" instrumental from the kingdom of heaven soundtrack ive had on a loop for about the past hour really makes me drift away with this one. Always did love a bit of harry gregson williams. I'm off in the forest hills of asia right now in my mind, pans of misty mountains, lush temperate forest, magnolias, cherry blossom, maples illuminating the valleys below, rain on leaves etc, a frog hit by rain dives into a forest coloured pool in slow mo, one of these guys scuttling through a rocky stream bed, perhaps popping a mating call and a head fringe, shallow focus zoom out to a mantis wiping rain from its antennae . Smell the air. Then that bit at 1min 22, I can imagine a tiger and waterbuck running though reeds and shallows in slowmo. Gorgeous.
An imagination is a good thing.