Nice image here Arati, I can see multiple possibilities of crops here.
I would have cropped till the hind legs of the one in front ane eleminate bird and further,
I can think of an image just with the two tails hanging and the bird,
Well, you need not agree with my crops
-RD

My apologies Arati - I pressed wrong "submit" button which happens to be rating which defaults at 7, actually I wanted to press Facebook like ! My thoughts on the image later...

haha - no worries, Ganesh! looking forward to your thoughts.

RD: You spoke my mind. i have it cropped to only one tail, in fact, reducing it to its simplest - on the back of my biz card . but there are so many possibilities. spent quite a while on it before settling on this crop. thanks!

would love to hear the various points of view from this forum

A

I love the harmony of the curves and the character of tails which seem to freeze the time. An interesting composition here !

I like both the tails hanging, so perhaps would have cropped keeping both, I like this version also. Lovely contrast, I was just thinking probably more space between the elephants would have made this even beautiful, same frame but with more space between, something on which humans have no control whatsoever. The reason am saying this is, along with the element of time, inclusion of more space would have portrayed the element of space too. Something more I would have loved ?? , the leg of the elephant leaving the frame not in a standing position, wish the leg position actually showed exit. I know am at great risk of Arati throwing dynamite sticks at me for wanting so much, but let me defuse the dynamites by saying this is a wonderful frame.... . Dil khush ho gaya.... I love these kind of images, now on a serious note Arati, just in case, while making these kind of images, it is extremely important to forget the whole elephants for a while, concentrate on multiple aspects like the position of the trunk in one, the leg and trunk position of the calf and the leg position or tail position of the one's standing. I know waiting for a longer time would have meant that you were at risk of losing the entire shot, if the front one's did not move at all and the following one's merged with the stationary one's. it would have spoiled the entire show. Executing images like these keeping a watch on all these factors make it very challenging even though the image apparently looks simple. The crop needs to work in the mind while photographing this, very well seen, well judged and executed. Top class image.

Another thought just came in Arati, if this is a cropped image, was thinking perhaps some space behind the front leg of the elephant entering the frame can be utilized to show a lovely pattern that is formed with the space between the legs of all the elephants..... any thoughts ?

Hi there Ganesh and Nilanjanda,
Thanks for the comments... yes nilanjan-da - those were the exact thoughts that were in my mind as the elephants were walking along the bank - i was seeing curves and lines and tails and trunk outlines! i shot quite a few in this sequence and i have many "options" some are very interesting

i felt this one, with the curved mother's trunk and the baby's stance (seems to be one of trust, vulnerability and seeking shelter) was most evocative. And while it looks like the front two have stopped, it is no really so... they are still walking... only their hind legs seem to have frozen in time!

i was looking at exactly the harmonies in space between the legs and tails and trunks - which is why i didn't post the crop with only the tails (which i had made nevertheless). the space after the entering ele's front legs was a bit too much compared to the other spaces, so i had cropped it as such. The funny thing is, i made this image a few months before i had even heard of CNP! so it is very heartening to see that it goes down well here
Here is the full frame image:


Thanks for your very thoughtful comments. it helps a whole lot.
best,
A

Wonderful silhouette, going B&W is best. I really like the scale in this image, hanging tails, the bird, calf - all of them have fallen well in place. Having said that, I am torn between the tails and the calf, which of these seek more attention from the viewer?, I am a little confused here. Overall its a wonderful image, thanks for sharing.

Arati, I would probably crop from the middle of the rear leg and definitely allow the space between the forelegs and the hind legs. The presence of the bird in front of the hind leg is balancing so well with the bird on the right side. I would rather suggest a crop on the right side of the frame as in the one you originally posted. The grass in the foreground of the full frame image seems more normal to me than the one you have posted in the forum. The elephants look a little too burnt out, I guess even if they are not in complete silhouette, they would look great, in fact the darker shades of gray might appear very interesting. If you notice the calf in both the images, the calf in the one you posted in the forum appears heavily burnt out compared to the one you posted later. I love the tone and the shades in the latter. In fact the bird too appears to be very prominent in the second version as the grass area is more opened up, which I liked. I would surely love to see a version less burnt during processing. For my sense, it would appear to be more normal than it looks now....There is enough contrast in the original one too I assume.

Hi Nilanjan-da,
i am still learning and getting used to Silver Efex Pro - so yes, the soft-contrast went up a tad too much maybe on what i posted. i recropped, trying to figure out what you meant. wondering if this is it:


i somehow like the tighter, darker crop because it keeps the rhythm and focus on the shapes... but i'm sure there will be different preferences and all equally valid!

thanks so much for the detailed comments and pointers - truly appreciated!
a

Perhaps better to go for the first version as far as crop is concerned, but I loved the details on the grass in the full frame version, the baby too looks better in that. Initially I thought some space between the legs of the first elephant will look better, but no, I change my mind now, compositional strength is better in the original version posted in the forum I guess. Silver Efex Pro can take some time to get used to, it is better not to use the templates but use the controls on the right side panel.

Two tails and Two trunks! Perfect image! Love seeing the Elephants like this. The calf in between seems to add a nice balance. The graphic outlines also add a lot of punch when set against the shimmering water. Its a true EleVision

Fantastic... The discussion so far has left me with nothing to really say other than "its a is a brilliant one". Thanks for sharing.

It is here, finally!

I love everything about this image Arati.. The tails, the trunk, the bent leg, the bird, the grass frozen in time before the elephant gulps it down..

Perhaps you could add a black outline?

Hi nilanjan-da thanks - yup, am using the right panels - but they are super sensitive, so still trying. plus i have a teeny tiny 13" laptop screen - which makes post processing a hit and miss. need to correct that!

Harsha Thanks, man. Nice to hear from you.

Hrishikesh Thanks, we're all traveling on a wonderful journey, isnt it.

Radz! there you are. yes, finally - hahaha. thanks for being such a solid sounding board. black outline where? i tried and ditched a lot of outlines - couldnt a-ha any :-/