Lion

[Rachel Hollander]

One more from sighting of a lion eating an impala leg, revisited from my 2009 trip to South Africa. I know some won't like the square crop but I thought it worked best here to deal with the harsher side light.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/200
f5.6
ISO 200
HH from a safari vehicle, cropped, levels, curves, selective color adjustments and sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[ramesh anantharaman]

Lovely close up and details. Could it have been warmed up a little overall???

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, you can hear that sound as the teeth crunch through the bone. Crop works, nice detail, especially in the eyes, no need for warmth, just reduce the magenta in the reds.

TFS
Steve

[Tom Graham]

Do you have same but him looking into camera? That would have (at least for me) more impact on viewer.
Tom

[Hilary Hann]

Rachel, I for one don't mind square crops at all so this works very well. Nicely processed.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Ramesh, Steve, Tom and Hilary for the comments. Steve - I'll take a look at reducing the magenta as suggested. Tom - any more eye contact with the camera and it would have meant that we had disturbed him, not something I strive to do. And certainly, something that Patrick, who was my Ranger for this shot, tries to avoid as I am sure you know. :cheers:

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Rachel Hollander]

Here's a repost with the magenta reduced (-30) in the red channel.

Thanks,
Rachel

[v.p.nurdeen]

Hi Rachel,
Like Steve said you can hear the bone crunching sound. Great IQ.
VPN

[Ken Watkins]

Rachel,

The repost is a vast improvement, do you have a little more room at the bottom to avoid the clipped chin?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks VPN and Ken. Ken - no more room above or below. I shot tight at the time to deal with the light and then cropped from the left and right.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

I love the intimate view here Rachel. Oodles of detail. Light wasn't your friend but you handled it well and the processing is very well applied.
If I may - I am going to do 2 reposts.

First off - colour version.

I felt your last repost was great, but could still use some detail extraction from the shaded/underexposed facial areas, without going OTT with it.
Here I dodged midtones with a single brushing at 6% strength, and also burned the highlights on the LHS with a 6% brushing.
Lastly added a hint of midtone contrast to restore what the dodging took out.

WDYT?
:t3

[Morkel Erasmus]

Secondly - a B&W...not everyone's cuppa but I saw something and wanted to run with it. This version I feel is more about the stare, and telling the story of the lion's scars as that's what the eyes focus on. Notice the difference in the look of the eyes between the 2 versions.

I ran it through Nik Silver Efex 2, normal preset and adjusted structure down to about -30%, contrast up to 10-15% and brightness down by 5%. Applied a red filter. Then back to PS and burned the RHS corners a bit darker (7% strength, 1 brush stroke).

Your thoughts?
:bg3:

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel I think its made it a little 'harsh' looking, a bit contrasty. In the RP the detail/colour looks softer and the light more muted, perhaps it falls between the two camps?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi Morkel I think its made it a little 'harsh' looking, a bit contrasty. In the RP the detail/colour looks softer and the light more muted, perhaps it falls between the two camps?

Perhaps. I do like my contrast a tad more than the next guy. :t3 (assuming you are referring to the colour repost?)

[Steve Kaluski]

Yep, although I do quite like the B/W version, but the blacks are just too black, chocking the detail in the gums and more importantly around the eyes. Don't mean to hi jack the thread Rachel, but this is a B/W converted in PS using the RP of yours. Interesting how they vary between the two softwares, although more was applied I think in Morkels repost.

cheers
steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel and Steve, no problem on the hijack as it is educational. I am not on my calibrated monitor so will reserve comment until later tonight. Thanks for both of your efforts.

Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

I am not on my calibrated monitor

sshh, nor was I :bg3: will pick it up tomorrow. :w3

[Rachel Hollander]

Now on my calibrated monitor and I like all versions though I think I tend to prefer a little less contrast than Morkel. :w3 The b&w conversions open up some interesting possibilities.

Thanks as always for your detailed suggestions and help,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Yep, although I do quite like the B/W version, but the blacks are just too black, chocking the detail in the gums and more importantly around the eyes. Don't mean to hi jack the thread Rachel, but this is a B/W converted in PS using the RP of yours. Interesting how they vary between the two softwares, although more was applied I think in Morkels repost.

cheers
steve

meant to say that I meant for it to have very dark blacks in this case, though it's ideal to preserve that detail as you have done in your post :w3

[Russell Johnson]

Rachel, the highligts are things we have to deal with, and you have done a good job.

Would go with your repost.

[Sid Garige]

My vote for Steve's B&W :)

[Harshad Barve]

My vote for Morkel's color :)
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Russell, Sid and Harshad