It’s been a busy day. Rather than write a detailed blog post, I’m sharing a simple portrait of Annie that I took earlier this afternoon.
Annie was lounging on the elevated platform in her group’s greenhouse enclosure. The chimpanzees who live on that side of the building have been closely watching J.B. and the Sage Mechanical crew as they put in another full day renovating Young’s Hill. I thought her expression (or lack thereof) made for a good portrait. I also included some alternate versions of the image, each edited in a unique way. Let me know if you have a favorite edit!
My “preferred” version:
The original:
Black and white with red and yellow hues lifted:
Black and white with blue and green hues lifted:
Increased contrast with “cinematic” preset settings:
There’s just no such thing as a bad photo of Annie. She is simply gorgeous. I think all these images are interesting but I am especially drawn to Annie Ć la mode de “increased contrast with ācinematicā preset settings”.
Annie looks all business observing the Sage Mechanical crew. Talk about applying some pressure! And I thought Jamie was a strict boss!
I agree that Annie is a gorgeous chimp! I’m also glad you liked that preset. I use Adobe Lightroom for my personal photos and occasionally play around with preset edits (cinematic, vintage, futuristic, and lots of portrait ones)
I love them all!! I was also quite pleased with myself that I knew who the author was just from the title :-).
Haha! Thanks, Robin! I hope you’re doing well in Nebraska!
I find the black and whites very interesting as I didnt know there were different colors for B&W , I thought black and white was just that, black and white. It is interesting how the 1st B&W is much darker around Annies brow and shoulders. The 2nd with the blue and greens lifted, to me, is a more appealing photo.
Me too, Karen!
I did a post a while back with various portraits of Burrito that you might also like: https://chimpsnw.org/2020/01/burrito-in-monochrome/
I’m still a beginner photographer so forgive me if I don’t explain this process very well. I take all my photos as RAW files, not JPEGs, so that the color and luminance can be finely manipulated later on. I then adjust the luminance of each hue using Adobe Lightroom’s “color mixer,” thereby changing how bright each color’s pixels look in the final black-and-white image. For example, I can brighten “blues” to make the sky look more white or darken “green” hues to make foliage look more black.
In film photography, this same effect could be acheived using filters of various selectivity and density, but that’s beyond my competency as a photography geek. š
Thanks for the link Anthony, it was very interesting and lovely shots of Burrito, I like to think I understand photography, but now Im thinking No, I dont really ! Still learning
I agree with Kathleen, you can’t tske a bad photo of sweet Annie…or any of them for that matter! Thank you all for everything you do; every day!
Thanks, Caroline!
I like the first and last ones! I’m always playing with photos like that. Especially newborns.
Those are also my favorites! The first is minimally edited, but I focused on making her sharper to bring out the textures in her skin and warmth in her eyes. On that note, newborn photography is so challenging! Kudos!
I like them all too but have to say her face, eyes and expression really pop in the first one, good contrast there. :thumbsup:
Thanks, Anamaria! That’s what I was going for. I feel like photos rarely capture their stunning eye color the first time around, so I’m glad a little tinkering helped!
yes I agree there are no bad photos ofAnnie but i have to say the black and white without the blue and green brings out so many beautiful beautiful parts of her coat. The shadows show up much better.
I’m glad you like them! And no, there are no bad photos of Annie. š
There is something about the black-and-white photographs of the chimpanzees and cattle which compel me to want to look closer. Paradoxically, it seems that, absent the chromatic hues, the portrait of Annie seems to reveal even more about her beauty and curiosity.
Thanks for the response, Tobin! I agree that monochrome really suits the chimpanzees and bovines.
Hey. Anthony!
Season is winding down here. Tonight a neighbor wanted to go to the last night (gasp! the horror!) of Frosty Freeze for the season.
“Annie pretty”, that special kind of pretty.
I like the original and the last one. Your preferred version, blown up, can grow on me, but on my phone, the laser eyes have a creepy, Pennywise quality.
“Your preferred version, blown up, can grow on me, but on my phone, the laser eyes have a creepy, Pennywise quality.”
^^^This one stung, LC!^^^
I’m only kidding! I agree that too much eye enhancement is a bad thing, and I may have crossed that threshhold here. š At least I didn’t try to digitally whiten her teeth.
Enjoy that Frosty Freeze! Is that the place in Middletown? I’ve never been there but I’ve bought coffee at the Dunkin next door.
Sorry. in the B&W, she just looks surprised. But in the other, it hides the color of her eyes.
Yep, that’s the place, almost next to DĀ². I lived here 19 yrs before making it there. That’s how little ice cream matters to me! :sweat_smile:
I love them all Anthony, You are a very talented.
But I think I like the last one “cinematic” best,
Annie’s beautiful eyes really Pop without looking possessed š
That is my favorite too.
Haha! “Possessed” wasn’t the vibe I was going for. I’ll try to use the settings more responsibly next time! š
Thanks for the kind praise, CeeCee! The chimps do the “work” by being fascinating and beautiful; We just share them with you all!
I too was smug that I knew who was posting from the title š Love your posts Anthony. And the photos are all spectacular as is the subject. I agree with Linda C that the original is my favorite and that the one that is your favorite gave me the Pennywise feel in the eyes. I also love the B&W with blue and green hues lifted. No bad pics from you ever and Annie is so gorgeous ! Thanks much to all
I’ll have to be more judicious about my editing so I don’t “Pennywise” any more portraits! :flushed::clown:
I’m glad you liked the post and I appreciate all the kindness you give to the staff and chimps!
I agree!