The King

[Rachel Hollander]

This male lion was keeping its distance but following a large herd of buffalo just before sunset in the Timbavati Game Reserve in South Africa in August 2009.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 100mm
1/160
f5
ISO 800
HH from safari vehicle, levels, curves, selective color adjustments and sharpened in CS5. I would prefer more room in front but this is full frame and I had the 100-400 at 100 so could not go any wider and did not want to clip the curled tail.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hello Rachel
nice shot of a never become tired subject.Techs and comp look really good,the only thing is that really distracting tree behind the lion.But as always you cannot remove the trees in the BG.And thats good because otherwise all the trees where chopped down by photographers haha !!!!

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, love the side on profile, really shows off this magnificent beast.

Looks like 'lady light' was on your side, nice warm tones across the whole image, especially the warmth on the subject. The angle is also good as it doesn't scream out that it's shot from a vehicle. :bg3: The BKG conveys the setting/environment and the layered tones gives a depth too. Wonder if it could do with a hint more USM in key places, WDYT?

Your PS work is really paying dividends.

TFS
Steve

[Steve Canuel]

Nice profile of this good looking show lion. Like the fact that all four legs are separate. I personally like the tree in the BG and how the branches spread out over the top of the frame.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Andreas, Steve and Steve - much appreciated.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Lovely profile here Rachel. The light was really showing you the good side of this big boy. Wonder if it might need a very slight reduction in reds?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel, you could be right about the reds. I went back and forth on decreasing them slightly myself. :Whoa!:

Rachel

[Tom Graham]

Nice profile. I like BG, tree and brush fine. (For me better than a total blur nothing BG). Right side, front, room fine for me.
Would agree a tiny bit red based on the color of the ground (not the lion).
Tom

[Ken Watkins]

Rachel,

Great profile shot here, BG tree is a bit of a nuisance and may benefit from a slight blur.

[dankearl]

I like the tree behind the Lion, and it is a great look at one.
I would have liked just a bit of a head turn toward you, but excellent as is.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Tom, Ken and Dan.

[Harshad Barve]

awesome light and image , VWD
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Harshad

[Vivaldo Damilano]

The tree doesn't bother me as one can see most of it. However if it was just the tree truck showing, IMO it would have definitely been a nit. I agree with good PS work, also like the soft light TFS:cheers:

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Vivaldo