This image was captured on the 16th of December this year. My friends and I waited patiently for about an hour for this lioness to open her eyes, she and her female companion were having a siesta and were not bothered by our presence (even though we arrived at the sighting in a large and rather noisy game vehicle).
It was overcast and the ground was moist and cool because it had rained a bit the previous night. You will notice the FG is quite red/magenta in colour, please bear in mind this is not a colour cast, such are the soils around here. The slight green tinge on the muzzle is algae from the water she had been drinking.
I decided to share this because I like the relaxed pose from the lioness, and even though there is no eye contact I feel there is enough expression to capture the viewer.
Processed in LR and PSCC. Cropped quite hard - about 70% of the frame. BG consists of the body of the other lioness, they were lying next to each other and barely touching.
Techs a bit "extreme" but lighting conditions changed constantly and I took a few frames in a hurry when the subject opened her eyes. I have some images taken at F9 and F10 which I will share at a laster stage.
Nikon D5
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 4000
F7.1
1/3200s
Thank you so much for taking the time to view, as well as for your comments on my previous images - much appreciated.
Warmest regards,
12-20-2018, 09:24 PM
John Mack
What a great frame. The lion looks very relaxed. The image quality held up very well considering the large crop. Details look great. I like the composition and the care free expression on the lion.
12-21-2018, 02:54 AM
Jonathan Ashton
I like it! The tight crop works well for me, one small suggestion would be to increase the sharpening around the right eye just a tiny bit. I love looking at detail and her nose looks great. Hope she enjoyed her pillow I think I would have given it a miss!!
12-21-2018, 07:16 AM
Steve Kaluski
1 Attachment(s)
Hi Gabriela, I like it because it's different and the subject is soooooo relaxed. Excellent POV and the undulating mud just adds to the location habitat. I think the DoF is about right, but the advantage Canon over Nikon is the Auto ISO, something I wouldn't try with the the D5, but for me is a huge asset to shooting. High ISO & SS for this, yes a mistake, but I too made many with the tigers, ISO 16000 lying down, BIG mistake!!!! The overcast skies helped, but I just feel the Blacks/Contrast is just clouding the file and gives it that 'flat' look. Controlling these two elements helps and then a slight tweak of both WB & Sat gives you some nice colour. I popped a tad of light into the LH eye, leaving the RH one in shade.
Nice encounter, lets see more river Christmas. :S3:
TFS Steve
12-21-2018, 01:30 PM
Gabriela Plesea
Dear Steve,
Thank you soooo much for taking the time to RP, you are so kind:5 And it looks lovely:tinysmile_shy_t:
Used to shoot auto ISO but stopped about four or five years ago. Nowadays I only do it when shooting BIF or bokkies running in the Kalahari, because it's all fast and random and no time to check/change settings. Not sure why you say I shouldn't try it with the D5 though, we must have a chat about that before March when I go camping in the magic place:S3:
And glad you liked my lioness, I plan to look for her and her friend again and see how they are doing. Forgot to mention she had a thorn in her foot ( L hind leg) and limping quite badly, I am a little concerned.
Hope you have a wonderful rest of the evening, I am off to my wilderness retreat tomorrow after work, yay:t3
Warmest regards,
12-21-2018, 06:09 PM
Rachel Hollander
Hi Gabriela - She does look very relaxed and when they are flat like this it is tough to come away with a keeper. I like what Steve has done. Yes, a bit extreme on the techs given the static nature of the subject but we've all done something similar.
TFS,
Rachel
12-22-2018, 08:41 AM
Dumay de Boulle
Nice, I like the tones in the original. Lovely pose and the flies really add.
12-23-2018, 07:48 AM
Andreas Liedmann
Hi Gabriela ...well enjoy your time in the bush !!!!
Hope you recover from daily stress in your ....other world :w3
Oh a very fine siesta image , lovely low POV for a shot taken from the car window . I do like the overall tone/color combo of the OP in general , but i do see potential with Steve´s version going with lower blacks contrast . If his version would be on a layer ....drop it to 50% opacity , my view .
The other lion body in the BG is giving a nice solid backdrop .
TFS Andreas
12-23-2018, 09:45 AM
Gabriela Plesea
Many thanks dear Rachel, Dumay and Boetie Andreas:S3:
Glad to hear from you all and I really appreciate your time to view and comment.
Indeed Andreas, I am having a hectic time at work this time of the year. But it has always been like this. So I am trying to balance things with some "time out" in the wilderness whenever possible:w3 Very hot though around here and we are expecting temperatures in the 40's from Thursday - typical Christmas in Kwazulu Natal:bg3: This image was taken from Carl's game viewer - I was seated right at the back and rather high, tried to lie down on the bench which gave me a better POV but no chance to move around really.
I will try do an RP keeping in mind Steve's version and your suggestions:5