Fragile

Pictures of animals in nature are always a wonderful sight, and you have this little one looking right at you. I presume the setting was dark. To your credit, you did not underexpose the picture but somehow the great majority of tones are at the dark end of the histogram. In the days of film, you would have had to fuss a great deal in the darkroom to get some of those deep shadows to reveal detail, but you would have been aided by the fact that film did not give a linear response. Digital does and it is even worse in the computer replacement for a darkroom than the old conventional wet lab was. However it is possible to get the digital image tones to behave more like film and to lighten some of those shadows to make an image that is easier to see. I did a quick trial for you and upload it. Don't consider it a finished product so much as a stimulus to make you want to experiment with the processing. In fact I applied to much sharpening so a better result could be produced.

Regards,

Jerry

Jerry,

thank you for taking your time to analyse and comment on my image. I do have a good general know-how on PS possibilities and digital enhancement. However my philosophy in photography - what I am trying to convey - evidently differs from yours.

This spotted deer was discovered in the shady undergrowth of Gir Forest - Lepards and Indian Lions probably not far away. This "fragility" so to speak - the danger of being a helpless prey in midst predators - is nicely visualized (in my view) with the tension created by the omnious shadows and part spotlights.

If I wanted to make a clear defined portrait of a Spotted Deer - or any other animal for that matter - I would almost always be better off in a zoo.

The manipulation you did on the image reflects generally what the human eye does a split second after it has adjusted itself to current lighting conditions. It de-contrasts the object we look at.

In my images I am trying to get that split second first impression before that happens. My captures should get across the atmosphere of the moment, one should feel the heat/cold, get a sense of the space, feel the tension etc. Apart from composition and colours it is light (and the lack thereof) which are our elements of expression as photographers to freeze a memorable moment.

This - my very own personal view without claiming to be "the truth" - is hopefully evident in all my images. Have a look at my portfolio and it should transport to you the artistic expression I envisioned.

Again, thanks for your time and thoughts.

Cheers,

Mark