Sharron Leppien, QPSA  


A Bit Cross by Sharron Leppien, QPSA

October 2018 - A Bit Cross

October 2018 - Sharron Leppien, QPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

This image was taken in Madagascar in June this year. The 4 of us were travelling from Fort Dauphin at the southern most tip of Madagascar towards Berenty Reserve( to photograph the Verreaux Sifaka) about 95kms to the north west. This 95kms took 6 hours to complete. The road was partially to blame as it was absolutely horrendous - we would come to a complete stop and have to crawl down potholes that were as big as a bus - (our poor little 5 seat mini van with shot suspension didn't cope very well!) - and the fact that we kept stopping to take photographs. :) This road was very safe in regards to bandits and profiteers but it is not advised to linger anywhere near villages. The people are just so desperately poor.

This image is just a coincidental one. The herder is driving his Zebu north and the young boy was with his 2 younger sisters travelling south on a mission to fill the water containers on their barrows. They just happened to stand together for an instant and probably because I was standing in front of the boy and the man turned around to show me his spear and to warn us not to touch his Zebu.

EDITS - Cropped, highlights and shadows in LR, cloned out a shadow on the right, a bit of dodging in PS, mono conversion in LR. Suggestions for improvements to my edits please.

Nikon D850 , Nikon 70 - 200mm f2.8 E FL @ 70mm , 1/640sec, f/10 , iso 200,


This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted




Attitude varies by age - father was little skeptical and observant but OK to pose whereas kid was happy to enjoy the moment. Nice capture. Initially I thought sun was very harsh but when I saw your original I found it was OK.   Posted: 10/15/2018 14:06:28
 
The joys of travel photography and dealing with what indeed was very harsh light. One has to take the shot and deal with the consequences afterwards ;)   Posted: 10/26/2018 05:23:32



Allen Tucker   Allen Tucker
Good capture of the light and the different moods of the two people, but I would like to see the largest (most valuable) of his cattle included in the frame. My alternative crop is attached (without BW conversion).   Posted: 10/16/2018 13:49:41
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I like this crop Allen and not one that I had considered. I like it much better than my crop. Thanks for your perspective on this and I will use your crop in the future :)   Posted: 10/26/2018 05:25:13



Tom Pickering   Tom Pickering
(Groups 0 & 53)
How interesting that the story we see is so different from the story behind it! Either in color or mono, the man and boy seem connected by more than a moment, with his spear showing a more primitive aspect and the boy's plastic jug a more modern one.

My only suggestion is to burn the 2 of them to help pop a bit more from their surroundings as they are clearly the subjects of this piece.   Posted: 10/16/2018 15:40:53
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I guess it is only the author of the image who actually knows the real truth behind the shot :) A friend of mine once told me that if one has a shot that may, one day, require validation, to keep several preceding raw images and several post images. In my case where I compete in PTD, PJD and ND I have learnt to stick to this rule and keep the shots even if they are terrible!
I have no idea where I was going with this thought but it seemed relevant at the time aha. :)
I like the extra pop that you put in Tom. I wasn't sure how far I get away with it before i ruined the image. You did just the right amount. Thanks :)   Posted: 10/26/2018 05:39:59



Jim Bodkin   Jim Bodkin
Excellent capture, Sharron. As commented before, your actual story completely changed the story my mind formulated from seeing the image, as the two subjects looked connected vs. strangers.

While I understand the reasoning of Allen's crop, I actually like your's better as it provides more interest on the main subjects instead of a lot of blank canvas. If one only saw your cropped image, they would never know of nor sense the missing cattle. If they only saw Allen's crop, they would probably sense the openness and lack of focus, rather than the sense that he has 15 cattle instead of 13.

Overall, an excellent capture.

  Posted: 10/26/2018 18:24:48



Jim Hagan   Jim Hagan
I prefer the original color version over the mono version. However, I felt the image was slightly slanted clockwise. So I straightened the image and cropped, as Allen suggested, but not as much. And I also darkened the image a little.   Posted: 10/28/2018 07:40:34
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