Dragon

[Bobobird]

Saw this lizard preparing to pounce on an adjacent butterfly so got into position and set myself up to shoot the action. Then some guy comes up and scares off the butterfly. Grrrrrrr..

Lizzie then starts checking me out. After a while decides I am too big to handle and disappears into the bush.

Comments and suggestions welcomed.

Thanks for viewing.

[binsurf]

Great shot, and I love your humourous assessment of what he might have thought of you.

At first, my first thought was there isn't much to see of this cute little guy. But, this much is great given the shooting conditions. Was this PP'd? Or is this unretouched? Either way, I like the lighting, although, keep an eye on the histogram for some of those highlights, they look close to clipping. If you get the chance, next time, try to get more of his (or her, who knows on lizards?) body. Their scaly bodies are great textures in photos.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Jim.

This one is is an almost full body shot but the lower parts are in the heavy shade of the leaf he is standing on. Too much of a pp job there to try a fix. I have other shots so it did not matter. In any case the upper part was the more interesting anyway.

Though I do keep an eye on the histogram things somethings slip. I agree it is close to clipping especially top of the eye.

Thanks for the scales suggestion. Will try that if I get close to one again. This time was using the zoom and constrained by the MFD. Left the macro at home to lighten the load.

Almost full body (tail too long). Not entirely happy with the pp as it appears a shade too dark. Might have to redo with some selective brightening of the body.

[binsurf]

Awesome! Almost looks like a lizard boudoir shot and he is giving you his sexy side! LOL

The only feedback I have on this one is that the environment is really distracting. Though, once again, given the situation, I doubt that is avoidable. His colour is very similar to teh leaves around him. I'm going to assume he's a male for lack of evidence to teh contrary.

Maybe a tighter zoom, or, in the case of this shot specifically, a 70% crop centered on his back so you can see his body. The tail is insignificant since it isn't very dominant. But, his body and details of his scales need to be the star of the shot. Their skin and scales are so extraordinary.

[Bobobird]

Thanks again Jim.

Have redone 1 and 2 plus the rest of the shots.

1a.


2a.


3.


4.


5.

[binsurf]

Excellent shots!

[pinakibaidya]

Nice shot.Considering the harsh lighting picture is sharp and detailed.

[Bobobird]

Thanks again Jim. Glad they turn out ok now.

Thanks Pinak. Yes about lighting should have metered properly before taking the shot but was worried it would run off.

[binsurf]

Do you shoot in RAW? Those photos look to me like they are from a DSLR, or a camera with a sensor much larger than the P&S 1/2.3" size.

[Bobobird]

Yes to both - RAW + 5D3.

[binsurf]

Forgive me, what is 5D3?

You can pull back the highlights in your raw files.

[Bobobird]

Sorry, Canon 5D Mark III. A new acquisition and still learning how to use it properly.

Regarding highlights - normally I pull back the exposure when shooting into directly lit areas that have lots of red, green, yellow or orange but plain forgot in my excitement. Still very much a newbie and still have lots to learn. The hardest part being discipline.

[binsurf]

I definitely understand.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Jim. I appreciate all the help here and have most certainly learned a bit more.