Another Killer Shot..

[Bryan Pereira]

lol, sorry couldn't resist the title. Spent a while with 4 lions around a kill and managed to get quite a few shots at different angles, etc. It was taken in the mara (my favorite park) and I was proud to be the one to have heard a male call that led to the sighting, normally my guides are well ahead of me.

Nikon D810 290mm (200-400 f4) at f4.5 1/640 iso 1250
raw processed in LR . shot through vehicle side window to keep things low, hand held
166629

I dont think im allowed to post more than one shot here so if anyone would like to see more I have a blog on the encounter: http://www.exposuretours.com/why-is-this-lion-smiling/

[Basil Dardagan]

Lovely moment captured of a good looking healthy lion. Really like the clear view of his eyes !! IMHO the image could be lightened a little. Also the lions eyes look sharp however those blades of grass on the right look like they might be a little sharper. Is the focal point on his eyes or is it perhaps 'further down' ? Obviously a higher f-stop would have helped however did you have a beanbag or something similar if that SS dropped lower?

[Mike Hitchen]

A god close-up Bryan.
I agree with Basil that it seems to be front-focused on the grass - on the link you posted the one with the Lion's head side-on seems to be sharper on the eye.
I also think there is a bit of magenta on the blacks of the carcass.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Bryan - It would really be easier for the critique process if you posted at the full 1200 px across that is permitted. Nice eye contact but I do agree with Basil and Mike that the grass is sharper than the lion. The shooting angle is not ideal because it still feels like you are shooting down on the lion, perhaps a little further away would have lessened that effect. There's a heavy blue cast in the blacks as well as the overall magenta cast already mentioned. I also agree that the image is underexposed.

You can post different images from the same sighting for critique in the Wildlife Forum but one thread/image at a time. As previously advised, you can post a series of up to 8 images in the Story Sequences Forum.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Bryan, I think you may need to recalibrate your monitor, as the posting is very dark and does carry casts within the image that are really affecting the whole image and not showing it to it's best advantage. I've tried to balance the overall image and have opened the image up, but over a third of a stop. In doing so you start to see more detail and colour. As mentioned, you should look to be posting to the maximum size, but good to see the image is sRGB and not RGB.

If you get the Exp & WB right in LR, then really you don't often have to colour manage elsewhere, but if you do, be careful, although any changes are done in real time so you can see any changes. The more you can get right 'in camera' the better the image will be and using the Histogram is your best friend, do not use the LCD screen, that is only for framing use.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[haseeb badar]

Hi Bryan -- I can only echo above thoughts , some nice suggestions as well . Hope you build upon that . Great going .

TFS !