A Few from the Wolf Day

[coupekid]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Ben, IMO these are some of your best Wolf shots taken. The position you have managed to get yourself in, lower down than the wolf looking slightly up has helped too. The animal becomes dominant almost threatening at times.

The limited DoF also helps isolate the wolf as I'm sure was your intention along with the nicely done vignette in the third shot. I'm often not a great fan of animal shots, esp ones in captivity but these look more natural and at home in this sanctuary.

Thanks all for the comments.

Stephen, I know you arent a fan of animal shots, and usually your not keen on 'faux vignette' (I just made that up, but you know what I mean ) so I am glad you posted, as I wanted to hear what you thoughts on that 3rd one.

[Pol]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

ummmm.......WOW!
I am not sure whether I appreciate that site or not Pol, makes me realise how far I have got to go

Beautiful work and I appreciate you posting that website, her shots of wolves are awe inspiring, thats one site I have bookmarked!

The raptor shots are amazing, I love some of the lighting she has used.

Many thanks for sharing that!

I spotted her work on Photosig maybe a couple of years ago and was very envious.

She has very enviable opportunities though, works in and around the various Reserves and Sanctuaries and she also has some very good/expensive kit + friends and family who work with the animals too, so they help out.

I gather she gets a lot of those bird shots from one of the reserves or sanctuaries. The birds aren't tethered, which is brilliant for them, and they swoop down to feed - so she knows exactly where and when to setup and wait for them then grabs shots from a good vantage point. Some of the bird shots are of wild ones from the surrounding forest so I imagine she might leave food for them.

There's one in there of her, or her friend, swimming with one of the wolves. I also love the shots of the Deer and the wild rabbit. I think the deer decided to stay in and around her garden after it recovered and grew up. Little wonder, eh.


Pol

[Stephen]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Thanks all for the comments.

Stephen, I know you arent a fan of animal shots, and usually your not keen on 'faux vignette' (I just made that up, but you know what I mean ) so I am glad you posted, as I wanted to hear what you thoughts on that 3rd one.

No no I actually use the technique on a lot of my pics as a matter of course, so no problems there. One tip I discovered though is to make your selection, often with the elliptical marquee tool, feather by 250 pix then invert. Now just use the brightness slider not curves or levels to darken the corners.

[coupekid]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

No no I actually use the technique on a lot of my pics as a matter of course, so no problems there. One tip I discovered though is to make your selection, often with the elliptical marquee tool, feather by 250 pix then invert. Now just use the brightness slider not curves or levels to darken the corners.

I will give that method a go. I do exactly the same, with the exception of using the fill tool, at approximately 45% opacity.

[Pops]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Ben - I can't remember whether or not I ever mentioned the work of Tanja Askani in here. She's involved with the Wolf Programme in Germany and she's also published (German text) articles about them, though I forgot where they were published. I'm not sure if she, or maybe her close friend, works 'hands on' with the wolves but she usually has a few photos on the web, either in Photosig or on one of her other sites.

I'm a fan of her animal and wildlife work - she seems to have a very special and unusual way with animals and it's reflected beautifully in her photography. I think you'll like what she does too - she elevates 'the aaaah factor' to a whole new level.

Her home, in rural Germany, backs onto a large forest and animals roam freely and also come into her garden. A year or two ago she rescued an orphaned/injured fawn and nursed it back to health in her garden. It was befriended by a wild rabbit and she has some amazing photos of the Deer and the rabbit playing together or curled up sleeping together. Some of her shots are in the wild - others are from a nearby Reserve and sanctuary.

Here's the link

Sorry for butting in but that site is just amazing. We may have gained an hour last night but I just lost it again viewing that gallery.
(I found one shot of the deer and the rabbit on page 24)

[lumix]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Sorry for butting in but that site is just amazing. We may have gained an hour last night but I just lost it again viewing that gallery.
(I found one shot of the deer and the rabbit on page 24)

Pops I'm not 100% sure but this link [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwYNmqHswF8"]The Real Bambi & Thumper - YouTube[/ame] I believe is a video of the deer and rabbit. Worth a look anyway.

[Pol]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Sorry for butting in but that site is just amazing. We may have gained an hour last night but I just lost it again viewing that gallery.
(I found one shot of the deer and the rabbit on page 24)

She's becoming widely known for her work with animals, especially for her photography. Her not yet published new book "Kinship with the Wolves" can be pre-ordered at amazon. There's an increasing amount about her on the .net too.

I could spend all day looking at her photos.

Pol

[spl]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

I like the first one most - the distance of the background from the wolf belies the fact that its in captivity and gives him/her a certain majesty. The strong colour contract between the wolf and its surroundings in this one makes up for the smaller size of the subject.

Just by the way I don't know if anyone listens to the sound recordings of Dan Gibson but I have some amazing wolf recordings of his blended in with his ethereal music.

[Pops]

Re: A Few from the Wolf Day

Pops I'm not 100% sure but this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwYNmqHswF8 I believe is a video of the deer and rabbit. Worth a look anyway.

Thanks for that lumix.
Just watched it twice.