Crazy Lion

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

A funny expression on the lions face as he was shaking his head.
5D III
500mm II
1/3200
f/8
ISO 800

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - The colors and tones look better here. The crazy face isn't really working for me. Maybe better suited to Just for Fun rather than the critique forum.

TFS,
Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

The Lion is placed in the rule of thirds position. The BG is clean and so are the surroundings, has a good head angle and the unusual expression is on display here. I wonder why it does not fit in to the critique? Anyway it's a matter of personal taste and opinion. Thanks for your comments.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

And oh BTW the light is good too.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - No offense meant, just the impression I got from your title and intro was more "look at the funny face this lion is making" rather than posting for critique.

[Marc Mol]

Agree the image quality and lighting conditions are fine Sanjeev, but I'm with Rachel on this, not doing much for me either.
Had you caught this male with a much slower S/S the shake effect may have been more effective, S/S is not always about having enough.:w3

TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev a funny expression , indeed .
I do not see a reason why to not post the here ....if you can stand the non exception of the image by others .
I personally think for this kinda shot you need to go in tight , the fun effect if one thinks it is funny ,got lost in the loose framing .
Again i think the subject does look quite good in tone and color , just the surroundings are so flat and lifeless ....why ?
TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sanjeev, technically you nailed the image, in good light too. However, I'm with Marc and his thinking on going for a much slower SS so you emphasis the twists & turns of the rotation of the head. This would have brought another dimension to the overall capture and diversity in the posted image. Yes, easy to say with hindsight and perhaps hard to think of at the time, but as you have frozen the actual action, the lion does look 'crazy' but going for a slower SS perhaps the image may be even more engaging???

Having recently done something similar, it doesn't always work and you can waste precious 'captures' but the world of Digital allows us to do this. I have just spent over a week, shot truck loads and most of it binned, however pushing the boundaries, exploring different techniques and occasionally posting something away from the norm can be very striking and refreshing. Hopefully there will be an opportunity where you could try something different and going for a slower SS might be an option.

Keep the DoF but look at say 1/60, 1/40... might work, but there is a happy balance and you don't want something o blurred, if you find that then up for SS and review.

TFS
Steve

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thanks Marc, Andreas and Steve. Steve, yes I will try and experiment in the future. Hopefully some tigers here in India. Appreciate all your feedback.

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve, yes I will try and experiment in the future. Hopefully some tigers here in India. Appreciate all your feedback.

Great Sanjeev, could be hard at times knowing when to experiment, however you could also pull off a real stunner. Pick you 'style' and your 'moment', good luck. :cheers:

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Sanjeev,

Please never stop experimenting, my friend:w3 Just wanted to say I tried to capture a similar head shake from a young lion recently. In all truth, my frames came out way too blurred so I did not even bother processing. I was a little upset, thinking I was unable to calculate the right shutter speed for the movement, but at the same time I did realise one cannot always predict such things... I just do not have enough experience with those kind of shots?

So I admit I followed the exchanges above with much interest. I guess you must know it in your heart, despite having what we usually refer to as "perfect" techs, this frame might not have the appeal you were hoping for. Your title says everything: the expression on this young lion's face is somewhat "odd", it is not really "cute" but neither "mean", so does not easily fit into our frame of reference when it comes to lions. How long your shutter speed should have been, I do not really know:tinysmile_shy_t: The amount of blur one needs often depends on the subject, but also on how well lit the subject is. Maybe you should have shot this is shutter priority mode? Definitely something to think about:)

Another thing, Andreas is asking a good question pertaining to the surroundings (grass): I personally think you are doing a great job with your subjects in terms of PP work, making certain adjustments and applying those selectively. But sometimes the environment needs a tad of "punch" too - not too much, just enough to make things look natural. Yes the lion pops really nicely here but the surroundings do look a tad pale, I noticed this in some of your previous images, how about you apply the same treatment to the foreground too but at a lesser percentage?

Changing subject, I must congratulate you on the number of posts and threads in this forum - very impressive:5 Cannot thank you enough for your contribution. I really look forward to your posts as well as comments in the future, and really grateful for your participation. All I can say is a simple "Thank You" , Sanjeev.

Kind regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Sanjeev - The type of image to blur the head shake is definitely difficult but fun to try if you have the opportunity. We usually know it's going to happen when an animal comes out of water or from getting a drink. If I was going to try to capture it I would either have a case set up for this or have TV/shutter priority set up for it. In Africa I now keep my TV settings as I want them for panning images. It's the only time I use TV and it's set to either 1/40 or 1/30.

Rachel

[Glenn Pure]

Sanjeev, I can see what is happening here and personally find it interesting. The loose skin on the face is moving around as the lion shakes its head and causing the weird eye/skin misalignment. But I think Andreas' idea of going in tighter here would have helped... if the option had been available and not sure it was. The idea of a slower shutter speed would have been interesting too but no guarantee it would work either. Always fun to play around, I find, especially when the opportunities are plenty.