Us South Africans live in rather murky times and spend a lot of time and effort trying to work out ways in which we can neutralize the dangers we might encounter. When in the Kalahari I am not concerned with the price of petrol, hijacking, robbery or strikes. The danger element is there, running away does not apply, knowledge of behavior is essential and keeping cool is the ultimate survival skill. This lioness came so close to my lens I could barely focus on her face. She had no murderous intentions, she was just passing by and I happened to be around. I was inspired by Loi's image (posted recently) and looked for this particular capture, taken in 2012. I love to look into a lioness's eyes, I always get a shiver down my spine and at the same time I draw a great amount of pleasure and gratitude for just being there, so close to her. She is a hunter - I can tell, not only by the blood stains on her face and body but by the piercing look in her eyes. They say eyes are "the window to the soul"-I don't know about that, all I know is I could become lunch any time, but she is not interested in me because she does not see me as prey, only a nuisance she is willing to put up with because I do not cause too much trouble...
Great essay Gabriela. In Canada our Lions are Polar Bears and I have had close encounters too. For those who have never experienced the presence of a predator which considers you a food item, I do not wish the experience on anyone.
The eyes of course make this image. In particular I am drawn to the micro-detail of radiating lines around the pupil.
You say you were close but would it be possible to decrease the crop, bring the eyes a little closer together, and de-emphasise the OOF hair in between the eyes?
Addendum by "bring the eyes a little closer together" I didn't mean moving them, just changing the crop and the relative dimensions of the image.
Last edited by John Chardine; 07-24-2013 at 05:52 PM.
Reason: added detail
I also am drawn to those fine details of the eyes...very powerful and beautiful! You were in a vehicle, I hope.
Your thoughts are well stated and I very much agree. It is a privilege to share space with the animals and take pictures. One of my closest encounters was with a bird, the Cassowary in Australia. I tried to make myself as small and still as possible, I think I even gave up breathing!
Dear John and Nancy- thank you so much for your thoughts on this image, I will have a look tonight at the RAW and see how I can change the crop to de-emphasize that OOF bit inbetween the eyes. I noticed the problem area when I was processing the image and hoped I could fix it, Steve was kind to show me how to sharpen better but I guess F6.3 was just not enough here, being so close to the lioness.
Nancy, I was in the car at the time, but it often happens that the lions wonder around one's tent, on the Botswana side of the Kalahari. We are particularly careful when going to shower, there are no doors and no fences around there...Last year we had Charlie of Rooiputs roaring in front of the tent at h10:45 pm. I was dying to unzip the tent and look, but wisdom prevailed
Gabriela, you got both eyes in sharp focus and in good light. John gave you a good suggestion to crop less so that both eyes are closer to the center of the image. I find myself looking at one eye and then the other instead of both at the same time. However, what makes this shot is the details of the radiating lines from the pupils, so it should be cropped and viewed at a larger monitor, not in a lap top like I am now. I'm of course flattered that you would be inspired to look for this image after my "Lion Eye" posting . thanks a lot. It made my day :). Loi
Hi Gabriela - I agree with the above comments, the details in the eyes are amazing, especially the radiating lines. I'll be interested to see whether you can improve this already very fine image with a different crop.
Thank you so much Rachel, I have been wondering whether I should do an RP or maybe I should be naughty and look for a similar image shot at F7.1 . I remember this lioness walking towards the car and if I am not mistaken I might have had the inspiration to change settings as she came closer. Sometimes it is all so exciting that one forgets about ISO's and F-stops. Other times things just happen too fast...In this case I remember having the male walking on my right, the female in the road facing the car and two subadults following her. So I tried to compromise with the settings because I did not know where the action was going to come from...We'll see what can be done
Herewith my attempt to RP-what do you think? Very straight forward processing, nothing fancy, LR for basic adjustments and then CS6 where I desaturated a bit and sharpened and sharpened and sharpened again (thank you Steve). Just cannot do a bigger crop, it does not work, will post a jpeg version of the RAW if anyone is willing to try...
Thank you Rachel, thank you all for your input, BPN is great fun and I am enjoying the interaction with other members tremendously, I have learnt so much from you guys!
Hi Gabriela - The rp looks better. If it were mine I might try cropping a bit more to remove the tufts of mane in the upper corners to really accentuate the eyes even more.
Thank you Rachel, let me try again I truly value your input-MUCH APPRECIATED!
I have posted an image especially for you, in " Introductions, Interviews,Family, Friends and Fun". (not sure whether it was the appropriate forum for my post but the moderators are welcome to move it where it belongs). Hope you enjoy it
Very nice Gabriela, your RP certainly is a massive improvement sharpness and detail wise, i like the crop too works for me. I may be inclined to open the eyes up just a tad but only a tad ;-) Congrats on a great image.
Hi Gabriela, good thinking in your choice of comp and spending the time building on the advice given within the thread is key, as both YOU and the image develop to where you need to been.
Now the issue when going this close as a 'detail shot' is everything needs to work, but more importantly, because you are this close, the 'finer' elements need to be continually assessed, even to the point of stopping, reassessing a day later, so for an image like this it evolves, unlike the more wider images, if that makes sense? As mentioned above, more DOF would have helped too. So for me there a two factors I feel you may wish to think about, and again this is my own personal observation.
Blacks - To me they are heavy, solid and choked around the underneath and corners of the eyes, killing any detail that is there, this is where you have to target areas and build on the image in layers & masks, but again the RAW is your platform in which to do the majority of work. Get this right first then it's simple tweaks in PS. You now have the tools I know, it's just a mater of refinement, stepping back, refining, especially with an image like this.
Blacks, contrast, shadows can be the killer, just treat them with a little TLC.
Sharpness - overall I feel you have 'globally' applied this? I would perhaps try backing off a little on the fur, but keeping things at 100% for the eyes. In essence there is a variety applied to get the balance right, easy to do and if you get stuck, shout.
You did say you wanted to be stretched.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hello Steve,
Let me be honest and say that I missed being "Steved". I read carefully everything you said and realise that, the only reason why I still make the mistake of ignoring these very valid points is because I have worked for so long without guidance and thus developed bad habits (like pushing up levels, contrast, burning here and dodging there and sharpening and voila, edit done...). Thanks to you, Morkel and Brendon (and other BPN members) I am beginning to "see" now. I am getting there... I have a screen saver on my Apple that contains old images of mine, I see them every day and they are good reminders of mistakes I used to make.
Lightroom 5 is here, we are busy upgrading to Snow Leopard (since last night, it takes forever to download). Scott Kelby's book on LR5 has been ordered, hopefully we'll have it soon. This is so exciting!
...now talking about stretching, I was born in Eastern Europe, Steve, I am tough as nails! I think I'll have another go at this image...
Hope you are having fun, wishing you a great Sunday afternoon,
Hi Gabrielas, taking a break from the little owls who were outstanding yesterday, so time to give them some peace & quiet, plus we had a huge storm last night!
Having seen many RAW images from BPN members, 8/10 have done all the hard work in the capture, it's in PP where things go a bit 'pear shaped' and where everything thing and anything is applied and the image moves the wrong way from the original capture. As Rachel says, 'less is more' and the more you achieve 'in camera' the better the image will be, with less PP time required. There is not a huge difference in LR5 from 4, but what I would suggest is you set your Workflow up from scratch, set your Apple kit up correctly for Colour space & calibration etc, then set all the Prefs too for both LR & PS then you can begin. Keeping a simple Workflow and take each stage/module as they are laid out, in that way you will not miss a step, or jump into bad habits, as you say. They are set in a key and methodical way and once you start you will soon be doing things in your sleep, without thinking and things will become automatic, but more importantly you will also be able to decide what you need to adjust and what not.
I have pushed it just to show you have the information there in the eyes, plus I just applied a little exp/highlight to reduce the brighter parts ie fig 2. Providing you don't blow the whites you can always get it back, but remember, if you lighten shadow areas you will have issues so be careful.
If you really want to know how to add Contrast properly I can show you, but it might be a little too advanced at this stage, however it's nothing to do with Contrast sliders, it's Masks, Layers, Curves & Levels, all in one go, using only two layers!
Just remember, we ALL work hard to get the images we capture, time, patience, fieldcraft etc, so you owe it yourself, take time with your images, don't break them at the last hurdle, LOL.
Back home next Friday, but if you get stuck...
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Well done as usual Steve. This is really a great thread showing the evolution of an image. Well done Gabriela for being so open to crits and suggestions and taking them on board.
I am so enjoying this journey, Rachel! Some pay a fortune to learn all that I am learning now, they go to courses, etc. To receive all this tutoring online from someone who is kind enough to give you his time and share his knowledge is a great priviledge - Thank You Steve ( I am expecting a huge bill in the mail sometime soon)
I see clearly what Steve has done, so much detail, brilliant, thank you again! And thank you Rachel, John, Morkel and Brendon-much appreciated!
Hi Gabriela, if this thread has helped in steering you to aiding you through what you can do & look for when processing your RAW then great. I am only one of many who just add their thoughts in the hope that this will help you in the future and know what to look out for in the journey. This is a constant building & evolving as I said when you first started to post here, you will continue to develop, and refine your Workflow, great work and your devotion to pushing yourself and the image is a huge plus.
Ultimately this is your image, how do you feel about it now?
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Thank you Steve for your comments above. To answer your question, there have been quite a few threads where I felt I have gained a sense of direction, an understanding of where my photography should be going, and what is expected of an image as a final product of PP work. I often hear the expression "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"-I do not intend to start a debate about "beauty" or what is acceptable and what not in terms of photography, there are other forums for this purpose. And talking about processing, there are certain requirements I have ignored from the beginning and with your help (BPN members and moderators) I am now able to correct that. Not long ago, I had no real workflow and did not know how much can be achieved by using correctly the tools my software provided. What I did have was some sense of proportion and an idea of the story I wanted to tell. I sold my "stories" easily on other websites but on BPN I was humbled. Humbled not by the people behind the images but by the realization that there was a long road ahead of me and I was still an undergraduate. This image is probably the best example I could use to illustrate my point: original post belongs to the undergraduate, second post belongs to the second year student, and so forth. I haven't graduated yet but already planning (with your help) a postgraduate degree
The Possibility of a Long Life
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). Just cannot do a bigger crop, it does not work, will post a jpeg version of the RAW if anyone is willing to try...
, BPN is great fun and I am enjoying the interaction with other members tremendously, I have learnt so much from you guys!
). Hope you enjoy it
( I am expecting a huge bill in the mail sometime soon
