Critique some critters?

[gmacmt]

Hey there, these are a bit cross posted, but I was looking for some more in depth critique on a few shots I took today in yellowstone national park. It was really overcast, and this is my first real attempt at large animal photography in nature. Most of my stuff is urban and all that, so it is a big jump for me. I would love your feedback.

Also, these are all square crop B&W's. I have been really interested in medium format photography lately so I decided to try my composition. This is all shot with a 5d with a 24-105. I edited with gimp, which is something I am not good at compared to PS (the raw conversion thing sucks!), so the edits are not ideal but the composition will remain the same.

I am thinking about pushing these to local coffee shops and stuff, so I really want to get an honest professional critique. So yeah, enough writing.


click for larger images because they look better...

1.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/3067578348_70849b6d03.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/3067578348_70849b6d03_b.jpg)

2.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/3067576738_0193ce70ab.jpg?v=1227943379 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/3067576738_0193ce70ab_b.jpg)

3.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3067571466_cc648670ba.jpg?v=1227943452 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/3067571466_cc648670ba_b.jpg)

4.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/3067568860_865d315739.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/3067568860_865d315739_b.jpg)

5.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3035/3067801276_18592cef49.jpg
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3035/3067801276_18592cef49_b.jpg)
6.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/3066725477_f3b0e0eb6b.jpg?v=1227943665 (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3071/3066725477_f3b0e0eb6b_b.jpg)

If you like what you saw, there are like 2 more on my flickr...

http://flickr.com/photos/gmacmt/

[KayakPhotos]

I like #1, 3, and 6. #1 and #6 have the best vantage point since you have the sheep looking at you somewhat. I think that #3 is just neat looking. You must have been pretty close to get these shots on a full frame with that lens. If I had to pick a clear winner, I would go with #6. There is just something about it that I find intriguing.

[gmacmt]

I kind of feel the same way driggs. That sheep has attitude. Also, what do you think of the 2nd one? If you haven't seen it large, it might help your opinion. In fact, most of these are better if viewed larger.

[SwingBopper]

I think all of these are underexposed or need a boost in brightness and contrast. The bighorn sheep #1 could be brighter but I'd mask off his rear to keep it from blowing out. I like the waterfall shot but as I said I think it needs some light. Nice series.

[Bill Boehme]

I think all of these are underexposed or need a boost in brightness and contrast. The bighorn sheep #1 could be brighter but I'd mask off his rear to keep it from blowing out. I like the waterfall shot but as I said I think it needs some light. Nice series.

Yep, you don't want to blow his rear out. ;)

The first one is very nice. Most of the others seem to be too dark however with low contrast lighting, it can be a big challenge.

[gmacmt]

Thanks for the input. They aren't underexposed, they are just poorly edited because I couldn't find out where to adjust levels in gimp. I think the light is flat, so they may never be amazing, but I think they can be made a bit better. I will try to adjust these a bit.

[gmacmt]

All edited for brightness (except for #4 because it is intentionally that way and #1 because I cant mask it with flickr) with the flickr editor. I hope these will look better when I have my normal processing stuff.

[Bill Boehme]

That is a huge improvement.