Grooming sisters

[Morkel Erasmus]

There's a nice spice of variety coming through on the forum this week!! :cheers:
So I felt that maybe the predators are feeling rejected and left out...:t3

I am working through some older images (October 2010, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) and came across this nice sighting of a Kalahari lion pride waking up in the late afternoon, getting ready for the hunt.I know the bushes behind them is not ideal, this is what they chose as a shady spot against the steep slope of the sand dune.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 100-400mm L IS USM @ 300mm
f5.6 @ 1/640 SS @ ISO-1250
Full frame with slight crop from the top and left
Saved at 60 quality to fit in 250kb

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi morkel

nice intimate situation you have captured here. do not mind about the BG,because it is not too dominant i think.Exposure ,colors and comp work very well.Is there a slight greenish cast on the back of the left lion and parts of the bush?? WDYT??

Cheers Andreas

[Ken Watkins]

Morkel,

Wonderful moment captured here, that is what I call personal grooming:w3

BG is typical and does not distract for me, and is typical of so many messy BG's we get here in Southern Africa.

[Steve Kaluski]

Based on the expression of the left lioness not sure if the grooming is that welcome :bg3: Love that rasping tongue and the low angle makes the shot.


Saved at 60 quality to fit in 250kb
Just goes to show, get the image right, no issues about IQ loss and this looks really good at ISO 1250.

TFS
Steve

[Harshad Barve]

Wonderful image Morkelbhai
TFS

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - I really like the grooming/interaction shots and this one is well done. Comp and detail are your usual high quality. BG doesn't bother me at all.

TFS,
Rachel

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely moment and look on the females face. Colors look perfect...Looking at Harshads post of the lion cub, man we have it tough with the South african bush to deal with in our images. We just have to make the best of it. People travel from the other side of the world to see what we have in our backyard.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for the kind feedback, everyone. Andreas I see what you're talking about, will maybe just select that patch on her back and take out some cyan (looks more cyan than green to me).
Dumay - so true, but you should really get to the Kalahari...nice and open there my friend!! :eek3:

[Steve Canuel]

Now that's personal attention :Whoa!:. Sure comes in handy after you've stuck your face into an animal's carcass. BG grasses/brush are a perfect backdrop for this image IMO. Color is complimentary to the lions and provides some nice, little texture.