Siesta

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Friends!

Hope we're still friends? I have been chipping away at your images for the past few days but now it's time for you to do the same with mine...

Here's an image taken a few days ago during a game drive with Carl and Andre, it was almost 6 pm and rather dark. Two adult lionesses and three cubs were having an afternoon nap together, as you can see the main protagonist was so flirtatious I could not resist a few attempts at capturing the moment. Not an easy frame to process and I had the following issues:

1. I felt the lioness was somehow drawing attention from the cub due to her size and her pale underparts
2. A lack of overall warmth due to fading light
3. A degree of noise, and especially in the darker areas of the image

After a few attempts to do a B/W conversion on a similar frame, I decided to process the one I am sharing here in colour. It is better framed and I liked the pose from the cub. Some of you might find this rather tight, kindly note it is FF. Processed in LR and PSCC.

Let me have your thoughts - do you find this too bland? Too dark? Is the cub's face sharp enough? Should you have any questions regarding processing steps I will be too happy to answer them.

Nikon D4
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 12800
F4
1/1250

Thank you so much for your comments and critique on my previous images, I appreciate it.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gabriela , what a sweet and inquisitive look the cub gave you ..... hey what are you doing there with that big , long and round thing pointing at me ?
Very cool moment and you did well technically .
You created a very realistic file in terms of color and tones , given the time of shooting :5
I would not change a thing , apart from wishing a bit more separation between the lioness and the cub , but this was not possible ... so i would say you are good to go .

Nice work and timing Gabriela :wave:

Hope Carl is doing well .

TFS Andreas

[keith mitchell]

Gabriela can trust on you to give us something different,that large oof mum is pushed right into the shade with that smashing little cub grabbing our attention,well done getting clear eyes with that plant being so close.I personally would not change a thing on this great job.

Keith.

[Glennie Passier]

Great work...as usual Gabriela! As Keith and Andreas have already mentioned; I wouldn't change a thing either. Colours look natural. Look at that ISO! I'm flat out at 800!

I like the mum; the way she is resting, but still within close proximity to the cub. The warmth of the pose in the subjects is all the warmth this image needs.

Beautiful!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, good to see you pushing those techs, was I right, did the camera melt going so high, how many who have recent DSLR's cameras are just oh so hesitant in ISO, perhaps this may push them, or not??? No need for the D5 I feel :S3:.

Perhaps a hard comp, but you did well, although I personally find the lazy female a bit dominating which I think you also feel, however the pose is priceless. I just wonder, in perhaps moving more to the left you may have eliminated the other head and the cub would I feel - still have followed you with that engaging gaze. Although the light was fading I think you could have taken the artistic licence just to add a bit of warm, it just looks a tad flat, but your call, this is where you have to make a decision as the Author. Your RAW should look as flat as pancake when you import it, if it looks bright & vibrant then it's wrong, but then that is where Colour management comes in.


3. A degree of noise, and especially in the darker areas of the image

Well that could just be a combination of ISO & Exposure.

The 'tweaks' are all in LR, nothing else.

TFS
Steve

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot Gabriela I like the composition, I think the adults in the background are great. I can't help but feel a little untidiness is good I refer to the lioness on the LHS, it conveys a certain credibility, sometimes images look just a little too tidy to my eye. I think I prefer the original I like the colours in Steve's repost but the cub stands out just a little too much for me.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - Very cute pose! At this size, the quality looks good for such a high ISO. However, at such a high ISO it also lacks fine detail. I too think moving left after getting one with this pose might have given you one with a cleaner bg. You had the cub's attention. I think the colors and temp of the op are more in line with the conditions you described.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Cute low POV here Gabriela, and I like the symmetry here with mum? in the BG.

Just wondering what NR you used on the BG as it appears a little aggresive with softness and lack of detail, there's no harm in some noise here IMO but kudos to you for "testing" the D4, speaking of a D5, I pick up mine next week....can't wait! :w3

TFS

[keith mitchell]

Gabriela missed the iso 12800 I'm impressed.

Keith.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Everyone:)

Despite the bean bag lying next to me this was captured without support, and Carl and Andre can vouch for me:) I had a whole bench to myself but tied my camera/lens bags to the back of the seat, so no way I could move to the left. Carl was in the drivers' seat and Andre occupied the bench in front of me, so we all found a spot and stuck to it. Out of respect for the animals we did not move around, we made the best of the situation. Anyway we were too close to the lions to move around...one cub walked towards the vehicle and I was surprised Mommy was not concerned at all.

Andreas, Carl is doing great and we are seeing him tomorrow - will give him your regards. Thank you so much for kind comments my Boetie:)

Keith, glad you noticed I always try post something different! Makes things more exciting:)

Steve, your RP is spot on:5, thank you so much for taking the time to add your magic touch, love your tweaks Sir!!! This is what I aimed for but failed to achieve...

And I agree with you Rachel, little was done on my part to alter colour/warmth and the image posted reflects the actual conditions. I just feel that - in order to help the audience "see" better this candid moment - a little warmth would be beneficial.

Marc, I have asked Nikon to send me the D5 for a little test before I consider buying. I might decide to be patient and wait for the D5S:) You are familiar with the capabilities of the D4, the noise I was worried about was mainly present in the darker areas (FG, for example). I will share a copy of the RAW if you like, not much noise as far as mommy lion is concerned, only the top R corner and I used a filter in LR to diminish it - but very, very subtly:) And remember this was shot at F4.

Thank you all for comments and feedback, my apologies for being brief but Internet connection is intermittent tonight - some fellows decided to steal a few cables about 100km away and this caused havoc around here. Sorry I did not reply to every comment, trying to be brief for now, back on Monday night and hopefully something different:w3

Hope you all have a wonderful week-end,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Gabriela -- Very nice composition with the lioness in the BG and the cub emulating a similar pose . And the look it gave to you is priceless . I liked Steve's RP which has took this image up a notch . I liked the result at this high iso , Your recent images are top notch and well thought and processed as well . Loved them every bit including this one , great going and TFS !

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gaby, love the eye contact and playful pose from the cub. Im fine with mom in the BG and OOF, and glad you didnt cut any of her from the edges of the frame. Glad that the tiny weed is free from the cubs eye, and a great result with high ISO.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Gabriela, sorry for being late on this one. A very cute little cub and that eye contact is awesome. I like the OP but master Steve has taken the up further and given it the boost it deserves. Well done, and very nice PP work!! TFS.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Cute moment, and the eye contact makes it for me Gabriela.
No harm in pushing that ISO but the NR technique is always the variable from person to person.
I never apply too much NR in LR/ACR since you cannot mask your subject from the effect. I prefer to still work with layers in PS and handle noise/sharpening on separate layers.

I think the pricing in SA for the D5 and even D500 have placed it out of reach of most of Nikon SA's target market, which is a shame.

[Stuart Philpott]

Gabriela i'm almost always moved by the emotional content of your pictures! As well as being a joy to see,this one is a real eye opener for me as it show me how well having an oof larger subject in the background can still work, such a steal having them both lying like that !!
Thanks for sharing mate a joy as always

Stu

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Haseeb, Stu, Sanjeev, Morkel and Stuart:)

I completely agree with you Haseeb and Sanjeev: I like Steve's RP, very much:)

Morkel, I really applied very little NR because shooting at F4 took care of the BG to a great extent. What bothered me was the clump of grasses at the top (right). I think I must show you all the RAW but I am doing lots of updates tonight (LR and CC) and backing up files, lots of files... And I do agree with you regarding price of D5... if this body lives up to my expectations I will sell my soul to get it, but then it must really be worth my while:)

Stuart, many thanks for your kind comments. Indeed, emotional content is a powerful tool - I tried to make the best of this opportunity.

Warmest regards,

[Marc Mol]

I never apply too much NR in LR/ACR since you cannot mask your subject from the effect. I prefer to still work with layers in PS and handle noise/sharpening on separate layers.

My NR workflow as well Morkel.



I think the pricing in SA for the D5 and even D500 have placed it out of reach of most of Nikon SA's target market, which is a shame.

Yes, that's an unfortunate reality for a lot in RSA, it's expensive enough for the rest of the world, I was fortunate that I had my D4 & D4s on a trade in and direct swap on the D5.
.......whilst we all wait for the delayed D500 :e3

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Marc,

Just curious, what body are you planning to use as backup, or with another lens?

Kind regards, have a great week,