First post for critique!

[pgaiger]

Hello folks. I had the great fortune of coming across a whole herd of Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) not too far from where I live. This big male was about 35-40 feet away from me, and I was able to get some shots.

This photo was taken as JPG, and there is no post-processing. I made some attempts, but I don't have the experience yet to get it right. I like how crisp it is, and I think the depth of field is nice.

Please let me know what you think.

Details:
Rebel XTi
EF 75-300 mm lense
1/1600
f/6.3
180 mm focal length
ISO 400
0 Exp. Comp.

[MattPacker]

You're right about the DoF, quite nice. You seem to be pretty right on the money exposure wise.

For me there's something about the animals head that's not right. It seems twisted at a weird angle, almost like it's straining or something.. Not sure whether it can be fixed by rotating the shot a little, but they do say not to work with animals or children..

Looks like an awesome place to live though, not a lot of country like that near my place..

[hitkaiser]

I think a different crop would have worked better, right now the head is bang on in the center leaving the sides kind of empty. Look up the "rule of thirds" and good job.

[Murtasma]

I think it's perfect where it stands. The light on the Ram is perfect there is little shadow but enough to great the sence of depth. the background is blurred nicely the tones look spot on. Looks very natural what I would expect my eye to see great work! Post some more images sometime!

Welcome to the forum

[clockdoc]

Hi and welcome to the group. Nice work for your first posting. I appreciate the addition of pertinent EXIF data with the photo. Saves lots of time not having to hunt it down elsewhere. The midday/high sun angle created some shadows that hide detail but still a good exposure. Onboard fill-flash would have been of no use at that distance outdoors. I agree with the suggestion to experiment with cropping to see if it changes the overall impact. I would encourage you to open a free flickr account for images posted to the DPS. The main reason is that it provides a medium size image that is large enough to provide a meaningful critique without having to go back and forth between thumbnail links. Additionally, partially written critique comments are lost when transitioning between thumbnail links and the critique reply box.

[pgaiger]

Wow! Thanks for the great feedback and suggestions. And fast too!

That day I was able to get about 45 shots of the herd. I picked that one because I liked the balance of scenery behind the ram. I am partial to this one as well. I think that it may be better overall, given the comments posted here. All of your input has certainly motivated me to share more of my photos.

EF 75-300 mm lense
1/1250
f/5.6
300 mm focal length
ISO 400
0 Exp. Comp.

[pgaiger]

Originally Posted by clockdoc

Hi and welcome to the group. Nice work for your first posting. I appreciate the addition of pertinent EXIF data with the photo. Saves lots of time not having to hunt it down elsewhere. The midday/high sun angle created some shadows that hide detail but still a good exposure. Onboard fill-flash would have been of no use at that distance outdoors. I agree with the suggestion to experiment with cropping to see if it changes the overall impact. I would encourage you to open a free flickr account for images posted to the DPS. The main reason is that it provides a medium size image that is large enough to provide a meaningful critique without having to go back and forth between thumbnail links. Additionally, partially written critique comments are lost when transitioning between thumbnail links and the critique reply box.

clockdoc,

Thanks for the advice. I am not sure what you mean about the flickr account. Do you mean so that I can embed the image into the post as opposed to creating an attachment? Could this be accomplished by hosting the photo files on my own webspace and embedding them? Thanks in advance.

Pete

[clockdoc]

Hi Pete. Yes, if your current hosting account can provide the coding necessary to post the image, that will work too. Check out the yellow "sticky" regarding posting images at the top of the "Critique My Shot" forum and it will provide more details. The key is to have a large enough image so that one doesn't have to click off the critique page to see it. I also feel that some thumbnail links tend to be ignored more quickly as some viewers just don't have the time to surf to other links. Give it a try here and see if your site works.

[pgaiger]

I have been thinking about the comment made by hitkaiser. I have reviewed the rule of thirds and I am still left to ponder the framing of the subject. I wonder if the horns on the ram have something to do with the way the subject appears to be placed in the shot.

The center focus point is just below and to the left of the rams left eye. The left horn however is dominant because of the angle. Is this leaving it to look as though it is too far right?

Would this shot be better if the left edge of the photo was cropped off a bit? Thanks again.

Pete