Photo of the Week - #51 9/5/22

[samstevens]

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[je ne regrette rien]

I think this photo is executed in an excellent way, the subject is very well placed, focused and lit. I find the in-focus foreground well thought-out and the out-of-focus background just right.

 

And the subject is cute, definitely.

[michaellinder]

I think this photo is executed in an excellent way, the subject is very well placed, focused and lit. I find the in-focus foreground well thought-out and the out-of-focus background just right.

 

And the subject is cute, definitely.

 

The deer certainly is cute. But what the image truly reveals is its innocence. Also, what I see in the technical sense is both background and foreground as soft with the middle (where the subject is placed) being in clear focus.

 

My only suggestion is to dodge the deer's visible eye to reveals at least a little of its color.

[mikemorrell]

I viewed the photo on a mobile phone which allowed me to zoom in on the full photo.

I agree entirely with @je ne regrette rien's comment. I would, however avoid the adjective 'cute' IMHO, this is an excellent nature photo perfectly executed. Both the foreground and background are deliberately out of focus. What is sharply in focus are the deer's eyes (including pin-point catchlights) and the deer's face and ears.

 

IMHO this is a masterful wildlife photo and also a masterful demonstration of how DOF can be applied.

 

Congrats (and respect!) for the photgrapher!

[je ne regrette rien]

I would, however avoid the adjective 'cute'.

here I claim SamStevens' statement:

In addition there’s how the photo makes one feel.

Accordingly, I see the technical merits of this photo, the success of its execution. And still find that the subject is cute. ;)

Edited September 6, 2022 by je ne regrette rien

[Robin Smith]

I would like to see the deer in the light rather than the background and the foreground. But it is cute, although where I am I tend to regard them as destroyers of vegetation due to their overpopulation (no predators to maintain the balance).

[mickeysimpson]

• Photo of the Week is a member-run feature.
  
• The photo is posted anonymously. If photographers wish, they may identify themselves in a comment.
  
• This is not my photo.
  
• Comment on and discuss the photo or any aspect of it in whatever way you choose.
  
• If you wish to submit a photo, please PM me with either an embedded photo or a link to one. Include a title if you want one to appear. It will go into the pool and eventually be posted as a Photo of the Week.
  

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[ATTACH=full]1438395[/ATTACH]

IMHO this is a great photo, beautifully done.

[Supriyo]

I love the photo, especially the semi-out of focus vegetation that resemble brushstrokes. The background is also non-distracting and the color shades harmonize with the foreground. Overall, the image has a painterly feel to it (I can easily imagine rendering this in pastel, which is the medium I mainly work on). The softness of the colors and lines probably add to the tenderness of the subject that others have commented on. I do agree with Robin's comment about the lack of light on the deer, but considering the whole, I don't feel its a dealbreaker.

[Ricochetrider]

Excellent phot. It seems to me this is difficult light and the end result (this photo) captures everything quite nicely, with a well balanced overall feeling that really gives one the sense of "being there" with the young deer. I like the square crop which really helps to zero in on the subject without distraction. Although thre are times when a lot of OOF area in a shot may feel disorienting (to me), this works well to really bring the subject to our attention; the grassy foregroud seems to lead one in but the eye stops at the deer, with nothging behind it to draw one in any further.

 

Nice shot!

[dcstep]

Thanks to everyone for your generous and "cute" comments. FYI, over on Facebook, this image was "precious", "sweet face" and "nice." Young animals are hugely popular with the non-photographer viewing public. Never miss a chance to shoot a baby.

 

I don't pay the mortgage with it, but I consider myself a professional photographer, published in Travel & Leisure, Field & Stream, Boston Globe, etc., thanks to Getty images. I have an financial and artistic interest in Gallery 6, in Denver's Santa Fe Arts District, where I actually sell large prints that hang on other people's walls. I've been shooting since 1959, but got really serious in 2007, with my first digital camera. I had my first sale on Getty in 2010, but just started considering myself "professional" in the last few years.

 

I shot that white-tail fawn out the driver's window, at Rocky Mountain Arsenal - National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, with an 840mm setup at Base ISO 500, f/5.6 and 1/1250-sec, on a Sony a1. I shoot Manual 99% of the time, so the lighting was NOT difficult. (You're not shooting Manual if you have auto-ISO engaged, so turn it off and use your EVF as intended).

 

I used two "tricks" to get this. First trick is that I first saw this youngster, walking toward the road on my right side. I passed him by, did a U and waited for it to get in that open shade. (Just like shooting people, open shade is your friend). The second trick is to keep eye-detect on all the times. This is bird-eye detect, on the Sony it has no trouble with mammals. It's like "cheating", but that foreground grass would have been a huge problem before eye-detect and tracking modes (I would have used a "Spot" and focused on the ears). (These days, "Continuous" AF, "Tracking - Center Locked" for Sony users in this situation).

 

Square vs. a 5:4, 2:1 or 3:2 aspect ratio is something that I decide at RAW conversion. Here, the line of In-focus grass would have distracted from the fawn, I think. The image needed more in-focus area to work well as an environmental image. (My first camera was a square format TLR, so it seems natural for me to flow between aspect ratios).

 

I'm out shooting around five-days per week, for a couple of hours on weekdays (I'm a risk consultant by day) and four to six hours on Sat/Sun and holidays. Some days I get nothing and some days I'll shoot 2000-shoots in an hour. Colorado is target rich. I DO travel for subjects, like polar bears, puffins, owls, etc. Yesterday, I shot around 1500-shots of great egret, snowy egret and great blue heron, fishing in a cove, while I sat at a picnic table. I processed 180 last night and I'll pick 3 to 5 to share on Flickr, FB and Instagram.

 

Another example of eye-detect making things easier than not long ago:

 

Nice Rack Peeks Above Tall Grass by David Stephens, on Flickr