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Thread: young male lion in Tree

  1. #1
    BPN Member Steve Uffman's Avatar
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    Default young male lion in Tree

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    Have many lion images in trees from Aug trip to Lewa, Kenya. this is the second lion image which is a young male which I like how the gentle breeze had blown the mane... but the background is bad...and the selection looks tough

    would welcome any thoughts and suggestions.

    Canon 5dIII w/ 500 f/4 L IS USM 1/2000s f/9 ISO 800

    LR4, CS6, NIK Dfine, TC and pro sharpener selectively.


    Last edited by Peter Kes; 01-03-2013 at 11:15 AM.

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Steve , a happy new year.

    Like the relaxed position of the lion on the tree with the look to the side, nice framing.Not much to do about the busy background , kind of distracting but it was there .
    Like the colors and the overall tonality , but think the lion and the the needs some depth to make them stand out more from the BG.
    So i tried, WDYT?
    Cheers Andreas

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Steve, interesting to see a different POV on this, as we quite often see them in grass etc, so for me I like the capture.

    Like the relaxed position of the lion on the tree with the look to the side, nice framing.Not much to do about the busy background , kind of distracting but it was there .
    I would second that, but again, like the cub, I would have liked a little more below.

    From how it's presented it looks like you had ice light, but the image is RGB, so it may be a little more saturated? I think you could extract a bit more detail, but I fined Andreas, your RP is a little too contrasty and pushing more black into it. I also feel Steve, based on the techs you could have dropped the ISO,as the lioness was relaxed and seemed to not be going anywhere.

    Now I'm doing this remotely, but with a Levels channel adjustment, a Curves channel adjustment I think it's going the way Andreas was thinking, I hope , then with three rounds of localised USM at 65%. I have not changed any colour, it all taken from a channel layer. Steve just look at the face, especially the eyes & nose, hope this helps. Not sure what TC is, but I assume pro sharpener is NIK?

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Steve and Mr Detail,

    your RP is an improvement , no question, but not what i wanted to achieve .

    I wanted to get that kind of effect i produced, but i have gone too far, think a blend of 50% from your version into mine would be good , i will try.
    I used two B/W layers in luminance blend mode at 40 and 60 % opacity .one for the tones the other one for the structure.

    Cheers Andreas
    Last edited by Andreas Liedmann; 01-03-2013 at 10:36 AM.

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    BPN Member Steve Uffman's Avatar
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    I have all kinds of tree shots from our trip....including a young, naive lion falling out of a sapling when the limb breaks

    All the input is very helpful and gives me some real guidance on direction ..For example, the 3 rounds of USM at 65% is not something I had ever envisioned so anxious to try it...now should I localize that just to the face or lion?

    TC is NIk tonal contrast in Color efex pro 4.

    and I guess the verdict is to not try to do anything with the background...looked to difficult to me anyway?

    I do have some shots of this with a good bit more room....what is interesting is the idea of giving more room but maybe sacrificing having the eyes on the proverbial rule of thirds line....which I normally try to do....

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    BPN Member Steve Uffman's Avatar
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    They were not always so relaxed! http://blackpearl.smugmug.com/Favori...7V7K&lb=1&s=X3 is a quick un processed image that I will work on next and post...seems the upward lion did not think it needed to move..soon did...

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hey Steve
    that image has a lot more depth than the one you posted here,
    like the overall tonality more, just after a quick jump to it.

  8. #8
    Roman Kurywczak
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    Hey Steve,
    I prefer the other post for its simplicity and head angle with some good suggestions above on tweaking. Nice but I prefer your other post a bit more.

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Like the pose by the lion and the tree trunk he's perched on adds some nice texture. I personally don't mind the BG as for me it adds to the feeling of the area where the tree has fallen. Not sure exactly what bothers you about the BG but perhaps making a duplicate layer, reducing the saturation and brightness of the red and yellow colors, then masking away the effect on the lion and tree trunk may help?

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Steve - yes, it's a busy bg but it is what it was. Nice pose. You've gotten some good suggestions for improving this image above. I would not be so concerned with the rule of thirds and having the eyes right on the line. Afterall, it's just a composition guideline. Do what looks best to you.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Steve, you had some nice light on a behaviour not many have the privilege of seeing lions perform.
    I like the overall compositional balance here. The BG is fine to me save for that curled up bush on the RHS...
    Good suggestions above with Andreas' last repost being my favourite.

    The other image you linked to is a cracker...looking forward to seeing you posting it here.
    Morkel Erasmus

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