Thirst...

[Shreyas Mantri]

I just came back from a trip to Namibia, and this is one of the Lions I found in Etosha. It's a band of 3 brothers, young and fat. They are residents of the Olifantsbad waterhole near Okaukuejo Camp.
By October, the land is parched and the waterhole dynamics in the park is extremely enjoyable!
This image was made in the late afternoon, when the royals condescended to come out of shade and gaze upon the lowly creatures around :w3

Canon 7D, Canon 300mm II + 2x III TC.
Av, f/5.6, 1/640s, exp. comp. +2/3, ISO 160

Comments welcome!


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[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Shreyas, I think the IQ looks good, although I am viewing on the laptop which is not ideal.

Personally I don't think the inclusion of the lion in the BKG adds much to the scene and therefore would suggest a crop to a more, pano style, cropping just above the 'roundish' bolder in the centre of frame IMHO & a little off the RHS. Position is often quite key in these kinds of shots, so I like the lowish POV, however with the head turn to the left I wish for you to have been positioned more to the left so the lion was to the right of frame, but you can't predict a head turn,:bg3: therefore, do you have any images with the lion head on, drinking? The late afternoon is always a good call, knowing the subjects will need to come to drink and you can photograph in great light too.

Look forward to more.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Shreyas - Good that you got to see the lions close up in Etosha. Nice pov. My suggestion would be a vertical crop to the rhs of the lion with more room to the lhs for the lion to look into. I would also try a luminosity mask to tone down some of the highlights. Hope to see more from your trip. I was in Namibia in August.

TFS,
Rachel

[Shreyas Mantri]

Steve and Rachel, thanks for your input!
Yes, I did get lucky with getting some "head-on" shots with these lions drinking as they did shift their position/s. I'll post them seperately, but have taken your suggestions and cropped this one. Let me know what you think.

@ Rachel, where all did you go in Namibia? I did a roadtrip from Windhoek to Caprivi, with a short trip to Erongo wilderness area which was a treat.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Despite the fact that this was late afternoon, it looks quite bright, and I know how tough the light can be in Etosha and the Kalahari. In the Kalahari it's often around 38 degrees celcius at last light this time of year!
Toning down overall brights as per Rachel is a good place to start.

Some good suggestions made above. I wish to see more of what the lion was looking at...and don't think in this case the BG lion adds to the scene.

In your repost the crop works better than the OP, but I'd still take off a lot from the RHS and get the lion 'centered' which would ease the "space imbalance" for me.

Hoping to see some more, Shreyas!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Shreyas, I think that is an improvement, but how do you feel about it, has it improved things and moved in the right direction for you?

I would look at doing some form of Luminosity mask just to soften and extract more definition, just look at the subtlety in the rocks. This is quickly done on the laptop, not ideal, but it does help. Take a look in Landscapes stickies.

cheers
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

I think Steve's repost is taking it the right direction. I would also look at reducing the blues, particularly in the shadows. Luminosity masks have become an invaluable tool that I often use for strong light/highlights. I was on a Wilderness Safaris trip to Windhoek, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Damaraland and Etosha areas.

Looking forward to seeing more.
Rachel

[Shreyas Mantri]

Thanks for all your input. Steve, the toning down definitely looks better. Like Morkel suggested, the brightness of Etosha is blinding and the afternoon sun is unforgiving. The most challenging were some Lions in the white pan.
Rachel, thanks for the suggestions on PP. I'll try the Luminosity mask on my other images.

Shreyas