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  1. #1
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    This is one of the intense sightings we had in the Mara Triangle recently.

    It shows the dramatic final moments of a young wildebeest who decided to swim across the river on his own and stumbled into a small pride of lions who were lying in wait just for him. We literally pulled into the sighting, hoping to get some nice photos of the lions in the grass, when this happened - 20 meters from the vehicle. This photo is uncropped. I shot with the 500mm combo here to get closeups of the intense struggle visible on the faces of predator and prey.

    The wildebeest put up a brave fight for a good couple of minutes...but alas its fate was sealed.

    Techs:
    Nikon D3s
    Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
    f8.0 | 1/1250 SS | ISO-1250
    uncropped (well, it's at least 99% of the original image)
    Last edited by Morkel Erasmus; 10-28-2013 at 02:42 PM.
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Intense moment, great action, perfect timing Morkel. The eye of the poor wildebeest tells it all. Superb Techs as well. TFS.

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    Lifetime Member Andre Pretorius's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel

    The eyes gives give this image the emotion- the wildebeest showing despair, the youngster at the neck showing intent and concentration- the female giving the lethal bite with eyes closed showing determination applying the choke.
    Very strong emotional stuff and a very powerful raw moment captured here.
    To me the techs are in place, they are secondary here.
    Strong moment.

    Andre.
    Regards

    Andre.

    www.gappimages.com

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    Hi Morkel

    Great moment. Love those eyes of the lion and wildebeest. I´m just wondering, what is up with the back of the female lion. Is it just dirt or is she injured?

    TFS/ Gregor

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    What a moment in nature !
    The wide open eyes and open jaws of the wildebeest surely shows that struggling emotion.
    Congrats on this fine image !

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Talk about an eye opening experience , the Mara does tend to spoil one for these type of opportunities, well captured & nicely framed Morkel, would have wished for better light, but take what occurs.
    TFS


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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Thanks folks

    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Mol View Post
    Talk about an eye opening experience , the Mara does tend to spoil one for these type of opportunities, well captured & nicely framed Morkel, would have wished for better light, but take what occurs.
    TFS
    Marc, given that this occurred about 10h00 AM Kenya time, I am glad it was overcast (though it was overcast almost ALL week during our trip ).
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Morkel Erasmus View Post
    (though it was overcast almost ALL week during our trip ).
    Yep, same for us in '10, all too common unfortunately.


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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Fantastic action and drama, Morkel. Techs look spot on and the framing is great to capture the drama of the struggle in the wilde's face. Great detail too. Might just back off on the reds slightly. Congrats on this one

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Rachel beat me to it with picking up on the red cast. Scrolled down thinking, am I the first or only one to see the red? It clearly wasn't getting passed Rachel though :)

    This is one heck of an image Morkel, all the drama of a kill without the blood. The eye grasping at life - lioness holding the pray - and the executing jaw crunch to the throat to puncture the wind pipe and so they can serve up dinner.

    Love it

    Jamie

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Thanks folks.
    Jamie, Rachel - immediately after posting it looked a bit red to me. Played around with it but couldn't get the balance right and decided one of you can have a crack at it
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    As you say Morkel, it's slight but it is there.
    Fixed here:


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    Great action shot Morkel. Really like the calm look of the top lioness making sure the job is done right. Amazing eye contact and details on this one.

    TFS

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel - Marc's post seems to have done it but he doesn't say how he did it. Try the simplest way - hue/saturation adjustment and -10 (or so) in reds.

    Rachel

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    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
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    There's a tragic look to that wildebeest - tough out on the plains. Not much to add here - your framing was good and the timing excellent.
    Ed

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rachel Hollander View Post
    Try the simplest way - hue/saturation adjustment and -10 (or so) in reds.

    Rachel
    An even simpler way Rachel is using the colour picker in Nik white neutralizer. Takes a lot of the guesswork out.
    Apologies, I should have stated this previously.
    Last edited by Marc Mol; 10-29-2013 at 05:55 AM.


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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    I tried my normal methods of colour balance and your suggested desaturation Rachel - usually my first go-to choices but they all left the other colours unbalanced (greens, yellows and magenta). Will have a look at Nik's tool Marc! Thanks for the repost
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Heart-stopping action, Morkel! Very dramatic and intense-congratulations on a well captured image, good techs and presentation!

    Warmest regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Mork, a sighting we all wish to capture, and you sure nailed the right moment, although Im sure you have plenty frames before and after this shot. I feel your colours in the OP are fine. Well captured.

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    Fantastic image, Morkel. I can see the Red cast now comparing the OP and Marc's RP, but it was very slight. The eyes tell it all. Congrats. Loi

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    Lifetime Member Markus Jais's Avatar
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    Perfect timing and great composition. Wonderful action and drama.

    Markus

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel, good timing on this one one, and lucky to be right in the thick of it too.

    Personally I might have wished for a tad more below, but perhaps cropping a little off the RHS where the WB back meets the Lioness, but it might be too tight? Reducing the Reds does help and that might be better in a Curves adj or in Selective Colour, the RP by Marc punches up the whites too much compared to the OP IMHO.

    The eyes tell it all
    Good call Loi.

    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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    Well captured Morkel.
    The eye of the wildebeest and the stare of the young lion are mesmerising.For me this shot is all about capturing the instant and even though the techs are great it would be forgiven if they were not.

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    pretty intense action here. excellent details & DOF. great job with the techs.

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    Even though it is the "natural order," I feel sorry for the wildebeest. Very dramatic Morkel. I like that the eyes are visible on all the animals. Excellent timing.
    Andrew

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    Pretty dramatic, especially due to the wildie's eye popping out! Looks like you had a nice run of kills on this trip!
    I liked the toning down of the reds, and curious if you got some shots with different focal lengths/lens?

    Shreyas

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    Crazy action going on here. Very intense.

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