Panda at the National Zoo, Washington, DC

Any comments or ratings are appreciated. :-)

It was a sunny day, even in the morning, and that's pretty much the best time to catch the pandas "out". So - do you think that the hot spots on his white fur are too hot? The shadows behind his ears and on his face distracting? Is the background okay? Any thoughts are always welcome!

Lou Ann, maybe going to the zoo on a day with clouds will help. The direct sunlight is too bright; the texture of the fur is lost in his leg and back. The Panda is my favorite too, but the contrast is a tough one when you are fighting the elements.

If I want diversity in someone's postings I come here! I'm not sure, with the lighting, if you could of gotten anymore detail in either the white or black fur, I'm sure one of the PS experts could pull it out if it was in the digital file. Mr. Panda's already B&W so a monochrome conversion might work better. I like the pose you've captured him in and the fact that his surroundings look "natural", zoo's have come a long ways since bar cages.

To me, hot spots are TOO hot - there is no detail left in the upper back white. Also, you are missing catchlights in his eyes - very important to me. The lighting situation was very difficult. You may have been able to spot meter on the white, then lighten up the dark areas later, but you can never pull detail out of white once it's blown out. I say that from experience. :)