iBra - not what you're thinking

[rmettier]

Maybe I should call it Eye-Bra to avoid confusion.

[IMG][/IMG]
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire



Be that as it may, the effect I was going for was to emphasize the black/white lines of the zebras stripes by filling the frame with them, and then to break the geometry with the close up eye. Eyes usually have a special effect in pictures, but in this one, it doesn't quite 'pop' and I don't know why.
I've tried cropping it to put the eye in the 'rule of thirds' sweet spot, but I don't think it helps in this case.
What I notice is that the quite shallow depth of field makes the stripes to the right of the eye blur a bit, whereas left of the eye it's crisp (enough so to make the dirt and dust on the fur visible). Do you think that might be distracting from the intended effect?

Any comments welcome.

[scootermcq]

I really like the thought, and the DOF with blurred stripes in the lower right make it work even more so.

I think it would work better with the eye in rule of thirds, but the main issue for me is you can't see the eye. My wife would kill for that Zebra's eye lashes, so I don't even know if you could brighten it enough in post to bring it out. My only thought would be to maybe shoot up or at eye level, so you come in under the eyelashes vs down.

[rmettier]

Thanks for the comment.

I agree that it would be nicer to see the eye, and in fact I did try to get down on a knee and shoot upward to see the full, open eye, but the animals didn't seem to like that, and moved away as soon as I did it. I might try again sometime, but unfortunately, zebras aren't really something I come across every day, so that might have to wait a bit.

As for the rule of thirds, I tried with the eye at the top left and bottom left 'sweet spot', but both made the image seemed cramped. Maybe I should zoom out a bit next time, to make the eye a bit less huge.

[Glayva]

Great shot a well thought out composition. If I was going to be ultra critical (and I am) I would try to move the eye over so it is nicely on the "thirds". I think you will like it more - but great shot a beautifully executed. Thanks for sharing

[IABoomer]

If you have an off-camera flash that you could use to get some catchlights in the eye, that would probably give you that something extra that you're looking for. I'd lower the power quite a bit so as not to blind the animal, but just enough to add some sparkle, and that might also give you a little more definition in the contours.