A Tender Moment
Mother and baby giraffe.
b-g replaced with texture from Shadow House.
Mar, 2013Views
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Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 21
Contest Finalist in Two Of A Kind Photo Contest
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
Jaw Dropping
Superior Skill
All Star
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at our local Zoo, The Fresno Chaffee Zoo.Time
This was a beautiful warm winter day. We arrived at the zoo excited to see and photograph the baby giraffe. We were not disappointed mama and baby were out in their environment. We found a place along the fence to watch them as they interacted together. After a time the mother laid down and as luck would have it, she selected a spot right in front of us. The baby moved about and around its mom it. This photo was taken in March of 2013 in the afternoon as the baby began lovingly nuzzling its mother.Lighting
I was facing into the light on a bright day and knew this would cause the background to be bright or blown out. I metered on the giraffes anticipating I'd replace the background.Equipment
The camera is a Nikon D800, 200mm lense, hand held. I did use a wooden fence post as a stabilizer.Inspiration
We are lucky to have such a beautiful zoo in our city. They are dedicated to the animals, maintaining, updating and expanding the exhibits. The zoo hosts many public events and keeps the public informed of events and new births. We'd seen reports of the much anticipated birth of a baby giraffe and were looking forward to spend time at the zoo and photography this newest addition to the zoo.Editing
I shoot in raw and download to Lightroom. I use the program to isolate my favs. I make minor tweaks and then move into Photoshop. The image of the mother and baby giraffe was beautiful. But, the background wasn't great. It wasn't totally blown out, because I was shooting into the sun, but, their enclosure had many visual distraction. I isolated the giraffes using masking and selected a textured background from Shadowhouse for the background replacement. Once I settled on the background I continued to refine the mask using the refine edge tool and other adjustments in the tool options. I added contrast thru the use of a curves adjustment. I was very pleased with the final image.In my camera bag
I use either a Nikon D70 or D800 camera body. My fav got to lens is a Nikor 200mm f2.8. Other Lenses I like are 16-24mm, 24-70mm, 105mm all f2.8. I often use a SB800 and sunpack speedlight to fill in as needed. Plus a few tripods and reflectors.Feedback
If the subject of your images is captivating or eye catching, don't be afraid to do a background replacement. It takes practice but, is doable. When photographing wild animals be very patient.
