I'm hesitant to post lion images here because there have been so many excellent ones out up already, but I think this Maasai Mara male is a fine looking specimen.
We found him together with an equally good looking female resting under a tree, just 200 metres from where we had our bush breakfast following an early morning balloon flight.
I'm annoyed that I clipped the top tufts of his mane
Cropped from horizontal, so this would be about 50% of the original image.
I had the aperture set at f5.6 because there was not much light during our flight and I had not expected to see anything worth photographing between landing and breakfast - my mistake - lesson learned.
I like this. I would be tempted to crop in a little closer to make advantage of the detail and perhaps to lose the grass stems on the LHS. I think it could stand quite a bit more selective sharpening too.
Ed
Thanks Edward,
I did try a bit of sharpening but I wasn't happy with the way it looked as the nice soft look became quite harsh. I also tried a tighter crop but it made the poor fellow's head look a bit squashed
OK I understand that. I don't mean universal sharpening, but localised sharpening with a brush. Something like this? I will leave the crop as I think you are right on that one!!
Ed
Its is a nice portrait …and as you stated there are lots of great Lion images out-there. So in order for this image to stand out , you really have to make a decision about how far you are willing to take your PP. There is so much that can be done to enhance/improve this image or any image . Just depends how creative you want to be….
Hi Martin - nice portrait. I agree on your self-critique that it is too bad about the top of the mane. Good eye contact and colors. I agree on needed more sharpening and Ed's rp is the way to go. I would try to recover or burn the hot whites on the chin a little bit.
This is a very nice portrait! I like the eyes looking straight at you and it must have been a fabulous moment to see this. I do like the selective sharpening that Ed applied.
Thanks Ed, I like your improvements. I'm a real wuss when it comes to PP. Could you give me some more details on what you did please?
Peter, agreed - always ready to learn.
Love your lion, what a beauty! Still in his prime, he must be around four to five years of age, judging by his nose-still a bit of pink there. Stunning capture, have you got any images of him with his female?
Hi Martin.
No problem - I just used the adjustment brush in LR with sharpness set to +20, and clarity to +10 and flow to 35% and just brushed over eyes, ears, whiskers, muzzle and the top of his nose.
Ed
I do like the OP with crop, but a tad more sharpening like Edward did in Pane #4.
You got already good suggestions above.
This would be a nice B&W as well!
Thank you all.
Gebriela, for me your crop is a bit too tight, I know I clipped the top of his mane but I think taking even more away somehow alters the look of his face.
I'll explore the suggestions for a B+W version and see if any of the shots with the female are worth posting.