Uncle Scar

[Rachel Hollander]

I think this guy could serve as the model for Scar in the Lion King. At the very least, he didn't seem to be having a good day. Earlier a young bull elephant had roused him from his spot in the shade.

Canon 7D2
300 II
1/800
f5.0
ISO 1600
Monopod from safari vehicle, cropped to 8x10 vertical from landscape, curves, color adjustments, sharpened in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Rachel,

Oh my, I wonder what happened to him?

What is interesting is that the subject has the face of a warrior, despite the presence of that cute tuft on top of his head ( which tells me he is not that old). Lots of expression here and the lion looks grumpy indeed. His mood is consistent with his appearance which makes the image for me. I really like this.

Good detail where it matters, rich colours and tonality is great. Framing works for me. I just love close-ups and this is really special - thank you for sharing Rachel, I really enjoyed viewing.

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Gabriela. Yes, the tuft or less than full mane indicates that he is younger. Despite being the younger of two males in a coalition, he seemed to be the leader.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Was just thinking, the nose is quite damaged and full of blood but it does seem still pink?

This male is going to rule the place, what an interesting character he is and I would love to see him again in a year or two. Hope you look for him when you visit the place again!

[John Mack]

Well this lion does not look happy. Great expression. Looks too tight all around. The hair do is cool.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- What an expression ! The scars look scary but this is what it is abt being a lion. Liked the details and techs look good as well, a bit more ss would have been even better IMO. I also liked his mohawk and the grasses and twigs stuck over him are acting as his ornaments , appears kind of rockstar. I find the image a bit noisy , one round of NR might make it a more cleaner file.

Nice image , TFS !

[Jonathan Ashton]

Great shot Rachel super details and he does indeed remind me of Scar. I like the colours and composition equally his expression, he appears to be very reflective.
My only complaint is it is too tall, even on my new monitor which is 27".
I know I advocated 1600px images, now I think most people are making that a minimal size, currently I am tending to make my images 1200px tall and in most cases let the width be what it is.

[Marc Mol]

Very nice detail on that scarred face here Rachel and his look of disdain is well portrayed here. A tight crop for sure but I gather this was to eliminate the vegetation/highlights?

S/S isn't an issue here with such a still subject, nor is NR IMO, agree with Jon on the pixel height also with my 27".



despite the presence of that cute tuft on top of his head ( which tells me he is not that old).


Yes, the tuft or less than full mane indicates that he is younger.

A male's mane is at times not an indication of age/maturity (eg, Tsavo and some areas where it's very hot like Ruaha & Zambia also come to mind) but in this case agree he's probably only 3+ (4 yrs max) and not long been kicked out from his pride. And his already prominant scars will likely be the first of many. :bg3:

TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks all. I'm glad you like this one. Haseeb - The ss is sufficient for a subject sitting still. The lion is pin sharp. Also I don't see a need for NR.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Basil Dardagan]

A fantastic image that tells a story and certainly gets the viewer thinking. Could the entire image perhaps be a tiny bit lighter?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Basil. Perhaps but he was in the shade so the lighting and tones look accurate for me.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, you did well with the 7D at such a high ISO, but detail and sharpness is all there, nice one. Personally I might have kept the richness of the BKG but dropped the exposure to add more standout to the subject.


The lion is pin sharp. Also I don't see a need for NR.

If it's not a big crop, try printing at 20x16 then review if it needs NR, with the 7D and 1600 ISO I would say it does require some.

Agree with Jon & Marc re portrait size.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve. This isn't final output for printing and I probably will not print this one, certainly not as large as 20x16. My point is that it does not need NR at this size for showing on the web.

Thanks again,
Rachel