What I find absolutely mind blowing about this picture is that because it was very dark when I took it, my ISO setting was an astonishing 40,000! I had to have a fast shutter speed -- 1/500 -- because I was using a long lens and because the cape buffalo was moving. My lens aperture was at the maximum opening for the lens -- f/7.1 -- so the only other variable the goes into making correct exposure is ISO. My choices were to raise the ISO or take a blurred picture, so I chose the former. I processed the image in DXO Pure Raw, and this does a much better job than any other software I know when dealing with extreme noise. Once processed (I used the ‘deep prime’ method in DXO), the image opened in Adobe Camera Raw where I could tweak the color and contrast. I then added the sky because the original background was solid white. Upon close examination, this low angled portrait (taken from a ground-level blind) isn’t as pristine as a 200 ISO image, of course, but it’s pretty good considering all the factors involved. I thought the red-billed oxpecker added a nice touch.
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