After the Meal

[Rachel Hollander]

Steve can correct me if I am wrong but I think this is one of females from the Tsalala Pride. We stayed with the cubs until they were called to a kill by the lionesses. This was the only adult who ate with the cubs, though she mostly ate the liver and other organs. The smell was not pleasant as she ripped into the stomach and intestines. The red on the face and chest from the kill. Light was at a premium in the late afternoon.

Canon 5D3
70-200 II @ 200mm
1/320
f5.6
ISO 1600
HH from safari vehicle, slight crop for comp, levels, curves, selective color adjustment, sharpened in CCPS.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[keith mitchell]

Hi Rachel,I have a 70-200 did not realize you could get results like this with it,hope you don't mind me asking but how far away from the Lion were you?you have some fine detail and the texture of the fur looks lovely.

Keith.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- This image has lovely details and looks sharp , I liked the simplicity and the female looks muscular . Lovely colours and the framing works for me . TFS !

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, yep a nice encounter, wish we had 'smell' to go with the encounter.

Not sure about the light being of a premium, but I do feel more ISO to bump up the SS would have been better as it was with the 5D, ISO2500 would not have harmed the capture here and a well exposed image will carry little noise as there is minimal darks/shadows. Colours, I let others comment, will have to wait until late tomorrow when I get back. I think you could move the whole crop down a fraction, just feel there is a sliver too much above. I would remove the dark patch close to the lower jaw so it doesn't distract from the open mouth.

Re Workflow, why do you choose Selective colour rather than HSL in RAW which has more impact/control as you are working on the RAW rather than a Tiff, what colours do you change and why, just curious?

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Keith, Haseeb and Steve.

Keith - the 70-200 II is known to be one of Canon's sharpest lenses. Here we waited a while as the lions ate and this was as she walked by us and away from the kill. She probably passed within 20-30 feet so less than 10 meters away.

Steve - Selective color is probably a poor choice of words because I don't mean that I actually use the selective color tool, just that I make adjustments to only certain colors as needed. I do so in a variety of ways depending on the image and where in my workflow I decide it needs a color tweak including in the RAW, in a HSL layer in PS, in channels or in Selective Color.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

A nice portrait Rachel with stellar detail and sharpness. Colours look good and comp works well, I like the tinge of blood near the mouth.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Rachel

Stunning capture of this female walking past you. Love the lip smacking after a good meal!

Would take a sliver of the top for more focus on lioness.

Would burn some of the black on the ears and dark marks on neck and face more with soft light.

A question- @ f5,6 the face seems sharper than the shoulders- should almost be the same with 200mm- did it came with PP?

Just my 2c..

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

Impressive lioness and I love the shape she is in! I like those traces of blood on her face, ears pointing backwards, strong jaw, teeth to match - she is a fighter. Colours are great for late afternoon light. I like the warmth and the IQ is really not bad for a HH shot, the face is sharp and stands out well against the soft BG. A mere suggestion: you might wish to try a tighter comp for more impact if IQ allows?

When shooting wildlife, if the SS drops under 1/800s at ISO 12000 I usually put the camera down and pick up the videocamera. Perhaps a tad higher ISO would have given you even better IQ and a technically perfect image, given the capabilities of your equipment. Talking about lenses, I am busy learning how to work with my 70-200 and admit I am at times struggling a bit with DOF - kind of unsure but I am getting there, been attached to the 500 for too long I think:)

Been comparing your image here with one I captured at the week-end, mine lacks the warmth and vibrance but I am reluctant to make any changes - I feel it reflects the lighting conditions at the time, as well as the mood. Mmm...a dilemma I intend to solve by posting the image as is, curious what your comments will be:)
I enjoyed viewing this image, thank you so much for sharing. I especially liked the physical posture of the lioness and the power she exudes, very well captured:cheers:

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Sanjeev, Andre and Gabriela. Andre - no difference in the sharpening of the head and body so maybe the lion was closer than I thought and the dof narrower.

Gabriela - I am fine with the sharpness. Yes, maybe a little higher ss would have been better but the RAW is pin sharp on the face. At this point I don't process them if it's not. Looking forward to seeing your lioness.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel she enjoyed the meal i guess :bg3: .
Good solid side profile portrait , with good overall color and a pleasing soft BG for the given techs . Lovely details and sharp where it counts , i would just like to see a tiny bit more tone in parts of the image .
BTW what does premium light mean to you ?

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Andreas. Not premium light but "light was at a premium" meaning low light whether it is because the sun was already setting, the animal is in heavy shade, it's before sunrise, a storm is passing through or over, etc. Here the kill was amongst a bunch of bushes and the animals were mostly shaded plus the sun was going down.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thank you for making this understandable to the "dumb" german :bg3: :5

[Rachel Hollander]

Andreas at the risk of going completely off-topic, I marvel at how well you and some of the other non-native English speakers do with your posts and comments. I certainly could not do the same in German and would struggle with Spanish which I did study in school albeit a lot of years ago.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Rachel for your kind words , i guess all are trying to give their best , including you native english speaking guys to understand the " dumb " ones :bg3:

[Marc Mol]

Techs and image quality look fine to me Rachel, very nice, the S/S of 1/320 should be more than adequate for a 70-200 lens given good lens technique IMO.

I gather IS was engaged Rachel?

TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Marc, yes, IS engaged. I rarely, if ever, shut IS off with Canon II lenses.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, you manageda great side on capture here, and in turn, shows off the blood from her meal. I also like the show of her teeth and tongue, and overall, good sharpness and detail where it counts.

After reading your interpretation of " light at a premium", I would have thought you meant - good light, sweet light, late afternoon warm light. :w3

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Stu. At a premium - scarce so you have to pay more for it (a premium price).

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/at+a+premium

:cheers:,
Rachel

[steve torna]

Hi Rachel, I appreciate blood and gore as it pertains to the daily fight for survival and this portrait is definitely about that struggle. The canines, blood and battle scars tell a story about this lioness. It even looks like she may have a swelling or injury above her nose. The composition is your choice but to me anyway, I think the image is screaming for a much tighter crop; the surrounding foliage adds nothing to the image in my opinion. I would much rather see more detail and a closeup view of her face. Great moment. steve