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Asha
Asha
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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: At the Zoo (Advanced Editing IV)
Collection: Animals-Wild/Zoo
Camera: Gateway DC-T50
Location: Natural Bridge Zoo, VA
Date: Jul 16, 2005
Aperture: 1:4.8
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/125 sec
Galleries: Nature, Animals
Date Uploaded: Jul 16, 2005

Taken at Natural Bridge Zoo in VA. I had a great time and took lots of shots, so it was hard to choose one!

Anyway, I decided on Asha. She was so gentle and sweet. I fed her and she let me pet and stroke her. (Supposed to be good luck to be touched by an elephant!) She also gives rides to kids. She kept scratching her back leg, so it's kind of a weird pose.

PP included:
crop
numerous selective layers (sky, background, midground, foreground, Asha): curves, color sat, gaussian blur, sharpen, exposure/light
spot removal for a few blemishes in trees and around Asha
blending brush to smooth transitions from detail to blur
extra sharpen & contrast around eyes
save for web

Statistics
Place: 29 out of 198
Avg (all users): 6.4061
Avg (commenters): 7.2857
Avg (participants): 6.1858
Avg (non-participants): 6.6207
Views since voting: 2110
Views during voting: 354
Votes: 229
Comments: 28
Favorites: 5 (view)


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AuthorThread
01/28/2006 12:35:44 AM
This photograph is just wonderful! The colors are just perfect. I really like how it has a very soft feeling and yet the texture of her skin is very prominate.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/27/2005 03:33:50 PM
I've commented on this before but I had to come back again to it because you captured her so beautifully. She is already in my favorites!
I think what sets this portrait off the most is her skin tones, and the soft blur of the background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/28/2005 03:44:56 AM
Beautiful detail in the trunk and legs. Well done! Missed this one too. Cheers....Martin
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/22/2005 12:33:50 PM
Great background (I know I fight with the cage wires). Good focus and color and what emotion! She is so young and cute... however the centering bothers me a tad.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/19/2005 10:20:40 PM
Very nice, captures the elephant's expression greatly. Depth of field is great, the leg is slightly distraction, but very nice anyway.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/13/2005 10:43:52 AM
great job, love the colors and the composition. the slight movement of the trunk makes this truely pleasurable to look at again and again.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/12/2005 10:42:07 PM
This is a wonderful picture. I have tried the elephants at our local zoo in Tampa and even with some PS help I can't match colors like this. The pose is also wonderful catching her with her ears flared.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/26/2005 08:35:18 PM
Congratulations on the top 30 finish! And a new high score! Getting better all the time, bro!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/25/2005 11:41:21 AM
Hey, congrats on your PB, nice job! I'm one to the eight who gave it a 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/25/2005 01:43:17 AM
Congratulations on a top 30 finish and a high score. Very crisp and nice shot. Not a fan of the blurred background but can understand your comment and think you did a good job in the little time you had before the challenge ended. Keep up the great work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/25/2005 01:02:19 AM
wow the background blur looks unbelieveably fake from PS :(
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/25/2005 12:55:04 AM
Congrats on new high score!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/25/2005 12:12:13 AM
To the commenters on the background: I was disatisfied with the GB transition on this as well and had worked up a much better version to post when my laptop crashed minutes before the cut-off time. GRRR! - LOL. I will post the updated version in my Portfolio. However, overall, I'm still VERY pleased with my PB to date! Woo-hoo!!! Top 30! I'll take it!
 Comments Made During the Challenge
07/24/2005 11:36:38 PM
Really pretty focus and color here. What a beauty.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/24/2005 11:08:42 PM
Beautiful capture with the ears out like that. Sharp and clear and nice, rich tones. Good job. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/24/2005 06:55:57 PM
Amazing clarity but if I may, I believe the background is suffering from sudden gb. Neverthe less the capture is expressive 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/24/2005 04:06:24 PM
I want her! Lovely capture, great detail, what a pity she moved her trunk but still a lovely pic
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/23/2005 05:03:47 AM
got to work on the photoshop skills ;-P
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/22/2005 07:33:45 PM
Nicely done! Gothic glow used? 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/21/2005 09:08:48 PM
The blurred background looks really badly done, and it's a real distraction, sorry. Most photoshopped blackgrounds do, since the transition is too quick, and doesn't progress going backwards, and it too soft. Also, the characteristics of real blur are not present. If you have Photoshop CS try using an alpha layer to set distances and use the 'Lens Blur' tool for a much more realistic effect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/20/2005 04:30:10 PM
My favourite shot in this challegne, predict good things!!

Perfect focus, DOF is amazing. Such a cute shot, good to see 'Asha' with her ears wide open.

Maybe I'd have liked a faster shutter speed to see what she's trying to eat, but think more about it I like the movement too.

Only distracting but, is that a person under her right ear? (Won't effect your mark though!)

Full marks, well deserved! 10


Know it's better than mine :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/19/2005 11:18:42 PM
Great shot, you couldn't have done better. I think this will be in the top ten. I like the softness of the background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/19/2005 04:48:38 PM
A very dramatic capture without going with a lot of contrast. I like this a lot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/19/2005 10:31:58 AM
Nice capture of the elephant. However, the background looks weird to me. I may be wrong but it looks like it's been blur in photoshop. Again, I may be wrong, but it doesn't look natural to me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/18/2005 07:33:50 PM
too much processing IMHO
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/18/2005 11:21:10 AM
This is beautiful! So simple, but just an amazing -- perfect -- portrait of one of my favorite animals in the zoo!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/18/2005 01:05:51 AM
Great detail in the elephant, You can tell you softened the background. Maybe too much though. I also like the motion in his trunk.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/18/2005 01:04:11 AM
This is the best elephant shot of the bunch. Natural and nicely shot. The light and detail is well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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