Terrestrial Happiness

[Gabriela Plesea]

This is for you Carl, and Thank You again for an amazing experience! LR adjustments and then sharpening for web in CS6, no time for proper processing but I just wanted to share with you this image. Almost "as it was taken", save for a few tiny tweaks. Will do an RP when I get the time, right now things are a bit hectic at work...

Nikon D3S
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 1600
F6.3
1/1600s

...Subject flirting with camera and a bit of movement as he rolled on his back, therefore the higher ISO to get a bit of shutter speed...Overcast and from time to time the sun shining through clouds...Yep, I cut the paw but this is about full frame:bg3:

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - Interesting and playful perspective and pose. I do wish that you had not cut the paw. The other paw looks huge!

TFS,
Rachel

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Gabriela, must have been great fun to be around such a playful cub. Yes, it is too bad about the clipped paw. I'd suggest using a lumi mask or tone down the whie part of the belly a little as it draws my attention away from the face of the cub. TFS. Loi

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gabriela a playful looking kitty cat that is flirting with YOU.
Besides the cut off paw , nice framing and good clarity and colors working very well.
Overall i do find it a bit dark in the 1/2 and 3/4 tones , easy fix for you . No need for burning the HL , just open up shadow would help , think.

TFS Andreas

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much for your comments, and sorry I cut off the paw, at least I managed to save the ear! These chaps were close and I did not have a smaller lens...Will look at the dark bits Andreas, and shall sort them out. I also agree with Loi about the white belly, a bit too distracting from this cute little face. This cub was actually quite big, in fact a subadult, when I saw his mom I realised what amazing genes he has...

I apologise to you all for not commenting lately, I have been really busy at work and now even my PP work is suffering:tinysmile_shy_t:. I am posting to share at the moment, finding a few minutes before I go to sleep and "tweaking" a slider here and there. Just wanted to show you I am still around. Some stunning images posted lately, will sit down and enjoy them all one of those evenings.

Wishing you all a great day tomorrow,

[Carl Walker]

Hi Gabriela - thanks. I think you had the best posy as many of mine at this angle are flanked with oof bushes. Love how the eyes draw you in. I think, as he is in the shade and with the ever constant change in lighting it is difficult to get it right but you have done very well here IMO. :S3:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you dearest Carl, you are so kind with your comments.

And I can never thank you enough for this amazing Sunday! You are such a giving and generous friend - thank you from the heart. We spent some 6-7 hours in the company of those lions, and you obviously had the same patience and enjoyment we did! I noticed you did not mind the wind and the sun and the clouds in the sky, and when we returned from this trip your face was as burnt as mine (I forgot to bring along my hat). The three of us had so much joy, having shared our space with those amazing creatures! To me, lions arouse awe and respect. And even a sense of sublime, despite their predatory nature - if I may say so, I worship the species. Forgive me for my open enthusiasm, I just wanted to say how grateful I am for this opportunity. At times -in between the Kalahari trips - I feel despair to be among lions again. Sunday night when I got home I felt I had to be the happiest woman on earth.

Good night Carl...

[Morkel Erasmus]

Such a playful and flirtatious pose, Gabriela, love it.
The paw is a shame, but shooting with the same setup I can appreciate you take what you get and hope for cut-offs not to be too distracting. Last year when lions took down a wildebeest close to us in the Mara I shot most of it with the D3s/500 and in the excitement forgot that I have a D800/70-200 on the seat next to me...needless to say many of those will never see the light of day haha.

Good luck at work, looking forward to having you participate fully again :cheers:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Good morning Morkel, and thank you so much! Just when I think I am happy with my equipment I discover I need something else:bg3:. Andre has given me his older 70-200 at some stage but I gave it back to him, I think I might take it along in October, just in case. It is noisier and heavier than the new 70-200 but I see clearly it would have come in handy in this situation. I have many frames of this youngster rolling about and the paws are in, but the eyes are slightly closed in some or he is not looking right at me. Found a few good ones but the paws are curled up, I so liked this one with a paw stretched towards us, it shows how relaxed he was in our company and at the time it almost felt as if he was inviting us to cuddle him:w3

Regarding your Mara shots - perhaps you could take a look again, I would love to see some of those exciting moments.

Morkel, I will never leave BPN for as long as I enjoy photography - I have learnt so much here and my friends are here. I have to disappear from time to time for a week or two, sometimes more, due to business commitments. Setting up the Nikon shop in the pharmacy means selling equipment and helping other people enjoy photography, hopefully introducing new members to this forum. I miss you guys when I am unable to participate:S3:

Have a great Sunday,