Unexpected

Driving through the heavily wooded area at Lake Nakuru NP, I hoped to find leopards and never expected to see a lion sleeping quite high in the branches of this fallen tree. I have some of him standing, but I quite liked the relaxed pose here with the curve of the fallen tree and the light reflecting from the packed tree trunks in the back ground. 3 textures added in varying blends and opacity. I wonder what Little Red Riding Hood would have thought if she had met this lion on her walk through the woods.

I've got too close to the image so happy for c&c, good and bad. :S3:

Hilary.

That Lion is certainly a long way up!
Your additions certainly result in a different mood.
I think a little from the bottom would improve the balance.
I do not know what Red Riding hood would have though a Lion or a Wolf , not a good choice either way:w3

Thanks Ken, I never expected to see you over here! :t3
Appreciate the comments.

I think this is beautiful, Hilary. I love the processing.

Wonderful composition, Hilary. I like the narrative ofthe fallen tree with the lion high up. The bg light is remarkable. I like youruse of the texture... it gives that old and rustic feel to the image. My only suggestionwould be to clean-up the sky (top-left) just a bit. Excellent processing!

Thanks Maureen and Indranil. I'll have a look at the sky, should be easy to fix.

I looked a long time at this last night and decided to come back to it with a fresh eye. One of my reactions was the same as Ken's -- that maybe a bit should be cropped off the bottom. In addition, it seemed like my eye was being drawn more to the light area below the lion. Well, today, I don't have those reservations. The lion popped right out, and I like that you're showing it high above the ground.

The sky in the top left works just fine for me. The arching green trees and the trunks frame the lion very nicely and function well as the near edges of a vignette. I imagine at least one of your intentions in the texture application was vignetting, and the texture and color of that part of the sky fits the rest of the image well.

Quite the mood, and I love it. It seems to need a bit of a W rotation as lots of the trees are leaning left. My only wish would be for his left forepaw to have been on our side of the branch rather than out of sight.

Thank you everyone for your comments, it has helped me immensely to decide the next step with this image.

Artie, I knew something was bugging me about the rotation and I think I'll go with the hanging tail as my plumb line which will bring the trees more upright!

Dennis, I liked the fact that you came back to this and have given me feedback.

I have a bit of remedial work but have a direction now. :S3:

Hilary, I like the crop and agree with the lighter area below the lion could be a touch darker. I like the comp as is and the mood. Well done.

Thanks Denise.

I like the crop as is and I think it's outstanding with nice colors. light, and texture.

Thank you Judy

Gorgeous! A lovely find and great treatment! I wouldn't crop anything off the bottom -- there is an absolutely lovely vignetted base there for the image to rest on. Maybe a little directed light on the lion would be good, along with the darkening of that area as suggested.

Thank you Diane