Giraffe's land

[Krawuntzel]

A few years ago I made this picture in southern Serengeti; what do you think about? What and how could I improve? I happen to go there again this year.
Thanks, Erwin

[Rebel]

I think its a nice image, maybe crop a tiny bit of the sky and the half-a-giraffe on the left hand side?

[Geoff F]

Exactly what I was thinking. The giraffes seem overpowered by all that sky.

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Krawuntzel]

Matt, Geoff, John, thank you for the comments
Erwin

[just me]

Nice image, but I was thinking straight away too, the sky is bit overpowering, and I would crop perhaps a quarter off or so......

Griddi.......

[TobyMac]

Nice Image and same thoughts here on the cropping.

[Wavelength]

Very nice; how about increasing contrast a bit?

Regards

[bnnrcn]

Hi Erwin. I like the image very much. I agree with Nandakumar about increasing the contrast a bit but only in the ground not in the sky. I think this would make the giraffes stand out more and the sky would look less overpowering.

[Manfred M]

Erwin, when I first looked at the image, I thought it was a landscape shot.

Then I saw the giraffes.

So is it a landscape or is it a shot of giraffes? If it is giraffes, the shot is not working because it's not what we first notice in the image.

[NorthernFocus]

Hi, Erwin. Giraffe's are one of my favorite animals in all creation. My views are similar to those expressed by other. Based on your title I assume that you intend for it to be a landscape shot that contains wildlife? If so, then my specific recommendations are to crop to a 2x1 pano with most taken from the sky but a bit of the bottom if necessary to place the horizon just above centerline. Then there seems to be an overall blue cast(though I'm not on a calibarated system right now) which I would remove from the foreground. Then as suggested by others, increase the overall contrast and selectively bring up saturation on the grass and animals.

It's a lovely shot with room for a bit of room for optimization. Nicely done.

[IzzieK]

I like the shot, but I too am on an uncalibrated machine so I cannot make a better judgment on this. I agree with Binnur and Dan and Nandakumar about increasing the contrast of the lower part of the shot if you want it to show as one image. Otherwise, this can be cut into two parts : Sky and Giraffes. Both can work well as separate shots such too. By the way, I like the texture of the clouds here. Very strong composition by itself. And as one shot, the star here should have been the clouds and the giraffes as the supporting actors.

[vaez]

i agree with matt nice image

[Nicks Pics]

Was just stopping by to see if there was anything anything interesting new today - there was! It's a beautiful image, animal-scapes are often neglected in order to concentrate specifically on the animal, just to state my personal preference I feel the large fluffy clouds are an important part of the image, the composition is not quite divided by the rule of thirds, but I see you did give a significant portion of the frame to the sky, which to me gives a lovely perspective of the tall giraffes being just relatively little creatures in the big world. I am not sure whether the image is very sharp or not, it doesn't look exactly soft or sharp, which is okay for this picture, did you perhaps use a slower shutter speed on this one?

[Mike Buckley]

I have looked at this image several times and, for me, the clouds are ideal. The subject is the landscape and the giraffes are part of the landscape, not the primary subject. So, I wouldn't crop to eliminate part of the sky. Indeed, I'm interpreting the title of your thread, Giraffe Land, to infer that you believe the photo is more about the overall scenery than the giraffes.

Definitely consider introducing some mid-tone contrast, as the image appears flat. Also consider converting to monochrome.

[Stagecoach]

Like Mike I have also looked at this a number of times and ignoring the crop options and intended 'subject' something just does not feel right about it to me.

It has a flat appearance generally and looking closely at the giraffes it appears the softness is more pronounced at the lower of their legs.

Considering the camera and settings my thoughts are has anything been done in PP to cause this appearance?

[The Woton]

Hello Erwin,
I think this is a great picture.
I look at this as a landscape image and all that the image encompasses. As one who embraces landscape photography, I might suggest increasing the clarity to eliminate that flat appearance of the giraffe's and landscape. Then increase the sharpness of the image to bring everything into focus from the foreground to the background.
Tom

[davidedric]

I agree with Mike that mid-tone contrast would help. I also think that some "local contrast enhancement" (Clarity, in Lightroom speak) would improve edge definition on the giraffes and help them stand out a bit more, if that is what you want.

Dave

[Krawuntzel]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I have a ton of improvements to think about, which I will do during the weekend.
The picture originally was intended as a landscape photo, showing how small giraffes can become when shown in their wider habitat.
So I will work on it, be back with an "update" and thank you again.
Erwin

[Krawuntzel]

I took the photo through another post-processing trying to follow some of your suggestions. If you have time to look, whether this goes into the right direction, I would appreciate critiques.
So here is the original posted picture:





the slightly cropped and re-processed:



the suggested pano:



To me it was/is always a big question, whether a landscape photo may show people/animals or it must be "free" of them.
Thank you for looking again.
Erwin