Beached Whale

[rogerxnz]

Saw the whale on the beach as I jogged past and I ran home to grab my camera.

Hasselblad 30mm fisheye—the right lens for a fish!

It's a Curviers Beaked Whale. Apparently, not much is known about them because they live far out to sea. It is known that they do not have teeth as they simply suck in squid

All comments welcome.
Roger

[luxborealis]

Mystifying and intriguing at the same time. If you hadn't said what it is (I.e. if I had come across this in a gallery), it would be even more mystifying and intriguing. I would not have guessed "whale".

The treatment you have given it is macabre with the blood red scythe of a fluke(?) against the B&W background.

I like it as is, but did you make another exposure from a lower camera angle? This would decrease the expanse of shallow water and increase the expanse of sky, possibly heightening the drama you've created.

[rogerxnz]

Thank you, Luxborealis, for your comment.

I meant to upload two other images at the same time and here they are.

The first one (6150) features local Maori saying a karakia (prayer) for the whale.
Roger

[Bruce Cox]

Thanks for posting these.  Do you have any frames with no direct sky in them?  IMHO, there is much reflected off of the water.

[rogerxnz]

Thanks for posting these.  Do you have any frames with no direct sky in them?  IMHO, there is much reflected off of the water.

The low camera angle with a fisheye lens made it impossible to exclude the sky.

Are you saying the sky areas are objectionable for some reason?

If so, could I not neutralize the sky in some way, such as, reducing the colour/contrast, and so on?
Roger

[mal mcilwraith]

Roger


I like it just the way it is.

Why?

I like the way the curve of what I assume is one of the Whale's tail bits - points to the small beach huts - it makes me ask was it man's fault this whale died?

The sky is great - it is not blank, but rather has a smear of cloud, like a shroud coming to cover the dead whale.

The shiny wet sand is not full of spectators - so the image does not have sometimes unavoidable distractions.

Top shot as is.


Mal

[Bruce Cox]

The low camera angle with a fisheye lens made it impossible to exclude the sky.

Are you saying the sky areas are objectionable for some reason?

If so, could I not neutralize the sky in some way, such as, reducing the colour/contrast, and so on?
Roger

I guess standing on the whale might not have been a good idea. 

The skys are fine.  I just thought it might be simpler without it.

Bruce