Calling all pro/veteran photographers

Discussion in 'Digital Photography, Home and Portable Electronics' started by sAAdC, Dec 5, 2010.

  1. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    Hi guys,

    Well this is the first time i've posted in this section as i mostly "roam around" in the AMD and game's section.

    Well my dilemma is that I'm planning to enter the BBC wildlife photographer of the year competition next year and hope to win in the 15 - 17 yr category. So I need your advice, help or tips which i can use to improve my photography

    I currently use a 20D and a 100-400L. Here are some images of mine, any harsh critique is welcome. :)

    1) Taken in Serengeti. This lioness and two other young males were "holed up" in this tree for half the day!

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    2) Taken in Serengeti as well. We were quite lucky to see it as we had just entered the park. The poor girl was "trapped" by 3 lions up this tree. Its too bad that I didn't get to see what happened to her as I had to get to the lodge and it was already sunset!

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    3) Taken at a view point at the Great rift valley. The mountain you see is called Mt. Longonot.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    4) Elephant in Masai Mara. Looks intimidating but it just walked by.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    5) A Rhino lying down under the shade of a tree at midday. In the background you can see Lake Nakuru.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    6) Red Billed Ox-pecker on the back of a buffalo.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    7) Male lion at Lake Nakuru National Park.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    8) Egyptian Geese fighting at the edge of the lake.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    9) Sunset at Mombasa.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    10) Young lion snarling at me, taken at Nairobi National Park.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    11) Wild dog staring at the car, taken at a private ranch in Kenya.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    12) Wild dog

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05
     
  2. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    13) Red-billed ox-pecker. (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    14) Buffalo. (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    15) Old male lion getting startled............because the driver suddenly started the car. (Taken in Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    16) Endless plains of Masai Mara.

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05
     
  3. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    17) Lioness feeding on a young Zebra. (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By sAAdC at 2010-12-05

    18) Cheetah. (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    19) The same lioness feeding. I'm considering of entering this photo but it may be too gruesome?? (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    20) 3 cheetah Brothers feeding on a Thompson's gazelle. I'm Thinking of entering this one as well?? (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05

    21) Cheetah. (Masai Mara)

    [​IMG]
    By saadc at 2010-12-05
     
  4. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    If you guys think that these photo's are sub-par then I'll have another shot in January 2011 because i'm going to Serengeti.

    If you want to ask me ANY question then feel free to PM me :).

    And also i'm no "DOUCHE" when it comes to photographic terms like bokeh, rule of thirds......, (because my uncle, who's a pro taught me these basic terms) but I kinda screw up when it comes to execution cause these are my best pictures from over 20 trips to national parks!!!!!
     

  5. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    I also kinda know the limits of my equipment, i.e. =

    With the 20D i know that the max iso i can use is 800 because at iso 1600 and higher noise is really a big "b***h! And the problem is that most of the wildlife become active at sunset and around sunrise and although the light is really good the shutter speed's i get are really slow, so yeah......

    and also although the 100-400L is a superb lens, as you can see above it becomes really soft at 400mm. So the answer is to shoot at f7.1 - f8 but then again that reduces the speed!

    So any advise is greatly appreciated :) .
     
  6. sirrith

    sirrith Guest

    Messages:
    1,602
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    Sapphire 5850 1GB
    I'm no pro/veteran, but I'll chime in anyway :p
    My favs are 1, 2 & 20. But the lioness's face seems a tad soft in 1.
    Also, 10 might have been better if the lower half of the lion wasn't cropped out!

    all in all though, they look pretty nice, and I wish I had the chance to go to a place like that.
     
  7. ScoobyDooby

    ScoobyDooby Guest

    Messages:
    7,112
    Likes Received:
    88
    GPU:
    1080Ti & Acer X34
    In terms of content and composition, exposure, sharpness and overall look I choose 1, 2 (a bit underexposed since it was in the shade) and 20. the lighting in 20 is perfect for that scene and is well exposed. 1 I like the most for its content.

    Nice shots all around and good luck in the contest!
     
  8. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    Thanks for the input. The lionesses face is a "tad bit" soft because the shot was taken with a 70-300 non-L.

    If possible could you reason as to why you chose these photos, so in the future I know what to look for in a "winning" image??? Thanks :)
     
  9. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    I kinda "favour" shot no 20 as well as it has the most powerfull story from all the other shots but i dunno, i'm really not that confident for these shots :(.

    Any pointers you could give me to improve my photography????

    Also thanks alot for the comment :thumbup: !
     
  10. Thug

    Thug Guest

    Messages:
    2,199
    Likes Received:
    10
    GPU:
    RTX 3080
    I want to be quite brutally honest with my criticism, but hope i dont offend you.

    Firstly, to get ANYWHERE in this competition your photos have to REALLY stand out, and yours dont.

    They are all VERY GOOD, and a couple stand out more than others, but none in my opinion are winners of such a proclaimed high profile competition.

    These photos have been seen a million times before and dont have 'that' edge to raise them above the others.

    The only one i think is getting close is no.14 (bird in Buffalo ear), as it is a great shot, and not one that you see everyday. But even then i would like to see it in colour or maybe dodged and burnt in photoshop, and cropped a little better.

    At the end of the day it can all depend on 'if your face fits' if your a winner or not, as with any art.

    You have to be brutal with your own photos too...
    If its out of focus or soft, delete it.
    If the lighting is flat, delete it.
    If the composition isnt quite there, delete it.
    If your scenics dont have interest in the foreground, mid and background, delete it.
    If the sky is bleached out, delete it.

    As i said, they are great photos and you should be proud of them (i would be), but as for winning a competition and being the 'best photo in the world' (which is what you are lookign for) they all fall short.
     

  11. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    Thanks alot for your honest opinion :)......and dont worry i'm not offended.

    Well i'm sure that you've gone through the winning gallery and well to me the winning shot in the 15-17 age group wasn't really a "WOWZER". I don't know if its me but i've seen similar images at fredmiranda and flickr, so.....????

    Well I kinda thought that my image's were good but not extremely good and you're input confirms my thought.

    So all in all you're trying to say that to win in this competition my image(s) has to be a "PERFECT" image, (in terms of exposure, bokeh, composition, etc, etc) AND mostly unique?????

    Any other pointers would be very helpful to make my trip to tanzania in jan 2011 a worthwhile trip.

    Cheers
     
  12. sirrith

    sirrith Guest

    Messages:
    1,602
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    Sapphire 5850 1GB
    I like them because of the composition mainly, and the lighting in 1. 20 like you said, has sort of a "story" to it
     
  13. ScoobyDooby

    ScoobyDooby Guest

    Messages:
    7,112
    Likes Received:
    88
    GPU:
    1080Ti & Acer X34
    I wanted to say a bit of what PCthug said, but didn't want to step on your toes.. so thanks PCThug for saying the things I wanted to say but didn't have the gaul to say lol

    But no you're right.. and no its not a matter of hurting feelings, you make good points. I agree when it comes to competition there has to be something really outstanding in a shot to garner the kind of praise needed to win.. although all these shots are great and have lots of potential, they dont grip you like they could.

    Keep up with it though OP, you obviously have a passion and desire to improve, and this will serve you very well as you grow and learn. Good on you too for doing great things so young, sheesh I only started getting into photography a couple years ago now and I'm almost 30 :(
     
  14. DLD

    DLD Master Guru

    Messages:
    896
    Likes Received:
    76
    GPU:
    MSI GTX1060 6GB
    Red Billed Ox-pecker on the back of a buffalo isn't bad

    at all...
     
  15. Thug

    Thug Guest

    Messages:
    2,199
    Likes Received:
    10
    GPU:
    RTX 3080
    No i havent, but i have been into photography since about 1982, and entered a few competitions, and won a few too (but lost more, lol).

    Believe me, rather than the quality of your photos its 'have you thought about it' that counts more, and 'does your face fit'.
    Dont just send a photo in becuase it looks good. Thats not enough these days. Most decent photographers can take decent photos. It has to have the feeling that its something different.

    The last one i entered was in a 'beautiful bodies' theme. I thought i would have at least got a mention with mine, but didnt. The one that did win it was one that i would have deleted. You just never know.

    Having said that, if there are several photos that are very good and they are undecided upon they will 'weed' through them. The first to go will be those that are soft, those with poor lighting and those composition less than perfect.
     

  16. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    Thanks for all the help guys. Well the thing i've noticed about most well known pro photographers is that they somehow study the behavior of the animal that they are photographing. This helps them in "predicting" the animal's next move so that they can position themselves better. Now thats a disadvantage to people like me and i guess the only thing that i could try is to be at the right place at the right time for e.g. a pride of lions stalking a buffalo or a zebra.

    Well anyway i shall be going to Nairobi National Park next weekend to try and home on some of these skills so wish me luck and i will keep you guys posted on any new photographs.

    Thanks alot :).
     
  17. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
  18. ElementalDragon

    ElementalDragon Ancient Guru

    Messages:
    9,351
    Likes Received:
    30
    GPU:
    NVidia RTX 4090 FE
    I dunno.... i quite like #10....
     
  19. sAAdC

    sAAdC Master Guru

    Messages:
    440
    Likes Received:
    0
    GPU:
    GeForce GTX260M 1GB
    @ Finchwizard If you read this then I would love to hear your thoughts/comments on my images :) .
     
  20. Finchwizard

    Finchwizard Don Apple

    Messages:
    16,424
    Likes Received:
    11
    GPU:
    -
    Sheer luck that I even managed to stumble in. I'm at work at the moment.

    Love the first pic, I would just jump into Lightroom and pull back the Yellows, a little over bearing. Otherwise great.

    3rd Pic, yea, Landscape shots are always going to look a little plain, they're far more meaningful if you've been there yourself.

    Elephant is great, but a little over exposed in general, but the sky is just white washed. Boost the blacks a little maybe.

    I really like 6.

    10 is great.

    13 is great.

    14, not sure on the B&W, looks like a glow effect been put in there too, probably if you remove that and bump up the red channel a little.

    16 is a much better Landscape shot, love the clouds.

    I think overall you've done a very good job. The pictures are great content, they are interesting, composition is good.
    The rest are small minor things that are more specific to ones editing style. Some people may think they're out of focus or exposure might not be great, but I think you've done a very good job.

    If it's for a competition, they might just need more of that pop value, which you can probably get with a little more editing.
     

Share This Page