Shaun the Sheep.

[WarrenH]

Shaun the Sheep.

[hminx]

This is quite cool Warren, the use of the top and bottom gradients works here. I just think as the sky doesn't hold much interesting texture you could crop a little from the top. Also it's listing a bit to starboard .

[Ridgetop]

Yep, cut off a bit of the darkest part of the sky and you've got an awesome picture. It is leaning a little to the right, but I think that's the natural tilt of the hill. If that's the case I'd leave it as is.

[mattb]

I really like how the sheep are lit and how a few are looking at you. I agree about losing some sky but it's a really nice image. Nice work.

[Greg McCary]

Other than maybe cloning a sheep or two I quite like it. The sheep that are behind other sheep could be cloned and it would look less cluttered if that's the right word.

[armando_m]

wonderful contrast of the sky with the grass

i would only make it a landscape , rather than portrait orientation by cropping a good part of the sky

[jamadophotography]

Wow! Amazing! Looks staged because it's so great!

[WarrenH]

Thank you for waiting for my replies.

This is quite cool Warren, the use of the top and bottom gradients works here. I just think as the sky doesn't hold much interesting texture you could crop a little from the top. Also it's listing a bit to starboard .

hminx, G'day.

"It is listing to starboard" Perhaps, heeling rather than listing? ... and spontaneously 'rounding up' (the sheep) into the wind because of the gusts. It was a big storm coming. The dark sky is rain.

Yep, cut off a bit of the darkest part of the sky and you've got an awesome picture. It is leaning a little to the right, but I think that's the natural tilt of the hill. If that's the case I'd leave it as is.

Ridgetop, Hello Mate.

You have a most appropriate name. How could I question your comment Ridgetop. The ridgetop is the natural slope of the hill. I did level the horizon further in Lightroom, but the sheep and the clouds looked odd. I settled on that degree of slope as the best compromise.

I really like how the sheep are lit and how a few are looking at you. I agree about losing some sky but it's a really nice image. Nice work.

mattb, Thank you Mate.

Against a dark blue storm, the lateral colour contrast of the complimentary yellow sheep from the late afternoon light, is strikingly amplified.

Other than maybe cloning a sheep or two I quite like it. The sheep that are behind other sheep could be cloned and it would look less cluttered if that's the right word.

Greg, Hi.

Yes, I have already. I've slightly simplified the image by removing half a sheep from the side of the frame.

Wonderful contrast of the sky with the grass. I would only make it a landscape , rather than portrait orientation by cropping a good part of the sky.

Armando, Hello.

It is a portrait of a sheep called Shaun the Sheep. I did a cycle tour across the Yass Plains close to home, and I titled the tour. The image was shot as an editorial image to describe the tour in a region that has millions of sheep, millions ... crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Shaun the Sheep, by Warren Hudson

Wow! Amazing! Looks staged because it's so great!

Jamado, G'day.

I think that animals make splendid subjects. I grabbed the shot the moment that I came across it, then the sheep saw me and immediately trotted-off over the other side of the hill. There is an old saying, At least grab one shot, even if it isn't perfect.

[GB1]

Definitely an advantage of living in Australia, having the opportunity to get shots like this! It's definitely tilting there Warren, but personally I like the negative space at the top. If you do crop it, just do so mildly. My only real nitpick is that the sheep don't seem super sharp on my monitor, and also seemed like they've been sharpened in post processing to the pt where one can tell. But this monitor here is bad, so it's really hard to tell.

[hminx]

Congrats on the sticky Warren, now knowing a bit more of the story behind this shot I reconsidered my earlier comments. I think the "list" is a non issue and the incoming rain front changes the narrative behind a nice shot. (Hope that makes sense)

[Don Schaeffer]

Well composed. Beautiful color.

[Anbesol]

Warren, an excellent shot, well deserved sticky. My thoughts for critique are, the saturation seems a bit much, especially the blues in the sky, I personally think it could benefit from some slightly softer tone. There appears to be some hard edge pixel's hanging around the sheep, though this is probably just web resizing and not accurately reflecting the original image. Also, not a critique of the image but sizing - considering the size of the subjects I'd prefer to view much more enlarged, to give me more detail of the subject. At this specific size, I don't think gives much justice to the subject, I feel like I'm looking more at a thumbnail than a canvas. Perhaps that criticism is better directed at the one who made an 800pixel limit than you though. Anyway, are you going to print the image? To what output?

[txt4ls]

Cool shot!