A snapshot of this beautiful little animal about 100m nose to end of tail. She was one of six that we regularly saw in our garden until a Black Sparrowhawk moved in to the neighbourhood.
I have edited the picture a lot by removing a very busy background and replacing with a better one.
Ginger the Knysna Dwarf Chameleon
Hi Arthur, beautiful part of the country you live in and a lovely shot of the Chameleon...
I find the background still too busy though...
Regards,
Mike
Thanks, yes this is the original Garden of Eden.
I agree that the background is busy but I wanted to keep it reasonably authentic but with adequate contrast to allow separation.
I have posted a recent picture of some of our peaks in "Landscape and Nature".
Hi Arthur - Welcome to the group! You did an amazing job changing out the background, although I agree with Mike that it is still too busy. The colors are great as is the way you got the texture on his skin down.
The biggest issue I think you have here is that the crop is too tight. I think of this style as "documentation style". By this I mean that the subject is essentially the only thing in the image and it pretty much fills it. If this is what you are going for - you nailed it! :) If not, and there is room in the image to open up the crop, I'd give him some room on the left and top.
Keep them coming!
Ruth, I have been a member for some time but have not posted recently.
I did not have the choice about composition. It was a very hurried snapshot of two chameleons fighting in a Cape Gooseberry plant, which is very leafy.
The ginger coloured chameleons are usually female, the predominantly green ones male.
Wonderful capture of the Chameleon Arthur and overall a great shot. Though I do agree somewhat with Ruth & Mike that the background is a little distracting, primarily I feel due to the highlights & contrast. I think a little background desaturation and drop in exposure )at least in highlights) may help.
Also, to speak to Ruth's suggestion on the tight crop - you can always crop out in Photoshop and use content aware fill to build out a little breathing space on left & top.
All this has to make sense to you though, and match your personal vision for the image
I have updated the picture according to comments = thanks.
An immediate and obvious problem is the branch holding the beast - I do not know how to extend it! I guess that it could be shown as it is now, but it does look odd to me. Any suggestions to help me?
Thanks so far.
Hi Arthur, i do prefer the second image as it really does highlight the Chameleon... but perhaps a tad too much?
Regards,
Mike
I would agree with Mike. Your challenge is to get the scene looking natural, with the highlights in the background toned down a bit. The upper right of your first image looks closer to the mark.
I wouldn't worry too much about the branch (but would crop a bit closer from the left. If you do want to extend I would try cropping OUT/to the LEFT from your 1st image, then use the rectangular marquee tool to select the extended section and apply content aware fill.
It may not be perfect but wort a try.
Thank you.