Beaver kit
The kit is wild and totally free, (not in a reserve). This was one of two kits ,image captured very early morning around sunrise. The adult was just a short distance away collecting food. If you look at the muddy bank you will see where they have been previously climbing and sliding.
Hand held sitting down at water level, it was too risky to try to get lower.
OM-1 150-400TC
ISO 4000, 1/400 sec f5.6
ACR/PSCC
Good evening dear Jon,
First time for me to see a Beaver kit, many thanks for sharing this image. Subject is really cute, looks a bit like our cane rats and my guess is they are similar in size.
I like the behaviour aspect here and the fact that one can see the environment, the habitat of the species. Good placement of the subject within the frame. POV is not bad... but could be better? Just curious, why was it risky to get lower?
Looking at the techs I think you took a bit of a risk as well with 1/400s, you could have easily upped the ISO to, say 10.000... without any major consequences. Must say subject looks sharp enough to me and there's good detail, so not complaining
Love those ripples on the water and that tad of reflection, background looks good, subject stands out nicely. If this was mine I would darken the plant the kit is munching on as it's a tad bright and draws the eye.
Overall a lovely image and I enjoyed viewing. Well seen, well taken and nicely processed. Always good to see something different
Warmest regards,
Gabriela Plesea
Thanks Gabriela, glad you liked it. I could not get lower because I was on rocks, the only thing after that was fairly deep water. I have plenty more of adults and kits, some with better view points and showing some bahavioural aspects. I deliberately went for slow shutter speeds, I was advised by someone who had previously phtographed them that 1/25 was adequate as they don't usually move quickly at all. I agree I should have darkened the plants some more - it was particularly bright.
I have some at slightly higher ISO they looks OK but there is no point pretending my camera does not deliver the same quality results as full frame especially at high ISO, so whilst I am not afraid of going high I will if at all possible get the ISO down often by virtue of the fact I can shoot 50fps raw so I sometimes use a fast - safe SS followed by slower ones which may or may not deliver.
Last edited by Jonathan Ashton; 08-02-2024 at 01:52 AM. Reason: typos
In the immortal words of Leslie Nielsen. ... "Nice Beaver"
Overall Jon both the OP & RP looks/appears out it terms of any form of white balance. So looking at the Raw I now take your point that the OM system requires a far higher number for NR, compared to other brands. Therefore saying that, the OP is better in terms of detail/NR compared to the RP. Where you have used the vibrancy slider in the OP, this has pushed it to having a yellowness to the overall look, a global adj rather than what should perhaps be a selective one? Also, coupled with the drop off in DoF the vegetation has an almost glow emphasising things.
Jon, the advice, take it or leave it would be get that WB right and keep any adjustments to being selective and a minimum, avoiding Vibrance. Also as the subject is in the sample plane of focus no need to sharpen the eye, as in the OP, it stands out.
Based on the raw, I think FF had quite a bit going for it just a sliver off the foot.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Do understand about the circumstances... just not sure about the 1/25s with any subject moving, albeit slowly, your subject not really still here and busy munching on those leaves, let's not forget you are shooting hand held. Yes you might get one or two sharper frames but I would not take a chanceOriginally Posted by Jonathan Ashton
Gabriela Plesea
Hi Jon ... a bit late to the party .
Very cool to see and photograph a Beaver youngster ... has a very childish appearance as posted ... very cute .
I do like it overall with the feeding behavior and the setting , does look very natural to me . The grass on both sides is cool as it does break the monotony of the soil bank . The ripples are nice
Tone and details are quite good .
Personally I do think the overall color ( WB ) is too yellow / warm .... matter of taste .
Interesting thoughts to shoot beavers at 1/25 sec .... maybe for creative purposes ???!!!
TFS Andreas
Hi everyone thanks for feedback. PC is unreliable even as I type this I have to re-type repeatedly, it just doesn't do what I say, when in ACR I get spurious histograms appearing. Getting a quote this morning for a new build so I won't make any more posts until I get fixed up.
(1/25 sec = typo should have been 1/250sec but agree sounds rather slow to me too.)
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