Whitetail Buck Portrait -- Repost added

Not much I don't like about this. The tree on left has me thinking, but I'm not sure if it would look better to me with more or less trunk or maybe a dark border is all it needs. Just looks (very) slightly awkward, though I see it as important in showing that this isn't a open field shot. That is only a very slight nit. If anyone thinks they can interpret what I'm feeling here I'm willing to listen.

Yes, that would hold me over for some time too. Nice picture.

That is one healthy looking buck in full rut. His neck is huge! Some nice looking hardware up top too.

The pose is very nice and there are no distracting backgound elements. The tree on the left seems to crowd him a bit, but the picture wouldn't work with it cropped off.

I might take a bit off the top, but this is certainly framed well for publication since there's room for the editor at the top.

Did you get this out of a blind?

Carl, Wow, this is great. The buck is huge and his rack is very impressive. The composition is great, with just enough environment to give a sense of the forest while keeping him very prominent. The light on the eyes is wonderful.

Carl,
This is fantastic, IMO. The tree and the log really give this an in the woods feel, and the background doesn't interfere with the image. For me that's the hardest part about a deer in the woods shot. Excellent job keeping this sharp in the low light.

I like this shot. Head looks a tad soft on my monitor at work but nonethess it's cool, man.

Hi Carl!

Hey, that buck looks familiar. I really like his alert pose and the setting is great. The tree on the left doesn't bother me and actually adds IMO. My film is not back from the lab yet but I hope I have some like this. This would make me happy too!

It was great shooting with you.

Happy Holidays.

Les

Very nice subject and photograph Carl. The stick in the foreground that forms a Y around the front leg catches my eye and I might consider making this go away in PS, otherwise wonderful light.. Thanks for posting.

Holy crap that guy is LARGE!!! You captured him very well,

Brent

Nice catch of his look, the face does look soft on my screen.

Very majestic looking animal. I like how you captured him by the woods without getting the common BG clutter. A tad soft on the head but the subject and his pose make up for that. Well done Carl. Thanks for sharing.

very well done, love the inclusion of the tree and background, head looks a little soft

Great shot Carl!! No nits from me, I know how hard it is to capture a shot of a magnificient Whitetail!! I like everything about this photo, especially the low angle.

I think this one version is sharper .. I checked the slide again, and it's definitely sharp. I shot a number of frames of this guy right here, and each of them is sharp. In checking them I saw that the slide film was RHP III, which turns out to be Provia 400F. I find getting sharp scans of some slides is very difficult, and I'm not sure why. It has something to do with lighting and texture I think, because I have a closeup of a bighorn ram that is tack sharp, and every time I scan it the image comes out looking blahh. Perhaps some of the more P/S wise folks may know something about this.
Anyway, thanks for the head's up about the soft face.

Tim, what's a blind? .. no, SOME of these guys are pretty habituated, as Les Voorhis can tell you. This time of year they have one thing on their mind, and pretty well ignore photographers.

What's really interesting to me is how small his brow tines are ... he has a great rack, the G2's are excellent, and he's clearly a big mature buck in his prime. I saw a # of smaller younger bucks with what look to be similar racks, albeit smaller. Maybe some kind of genetic thing for a few of these deer.

Cheers

Carl

That is one beefy looking deer! You have an excellent image with great comp. You should be proud of this one.

Cindy

Hey Carl, I actually liked the first post better. The second seems to have some "noise" from oversharpening on the face. Maybe a compromise between the two would be ideal.