His Majesty

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for all your theme posts - it's rocking!

This is still the most amazingly beautiful lion I've ever seen. He's called "Mufasa Junior" and we weren't lucky enough to see him this past December. It seems he's no longer with his pride, some other male ousted him, but we know he's still alive and roaming the dunes of the Kalahari. I'm confident that this king will soon be on his throne again after vanquishing the usurper. This was an amazing morning in November 2012 when he was patrolling his territory and scent-marking alongside the road. He was roaring the whole time, at one point not 3 meters from the passenger side of my vehicle!

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
1.4x teleconverter
90% of full frame, slight crop from LHS and bottom
f11 | 1/1000 SS | ISO-720
I picked f11 as he was really close and DOF is limited with this combo - focus distance shows 25m!

[Nancy Bell]

Wow...beauty & brawn in one serious package! A very dynamic pose that truly conveys the tension and strength of his body as he roars. Certainly an experience to be envious of! The nice, plain blurred bkgd is perfect. Is the fur under his chin really that copper/orange color? Or is that my monitor?

[dankearl]

The fur, I assume has blood on it?
Powerful photo, Morkel, although just a tiny bit more of a head turn to the camera would look better for me.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - great looking male. I like all the different colors of his mane with excellent detail. Excellent pose and a powerful profile image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Aaah! I absolutely adore these cats! I had one standing next to my car last Saturday, sniffing the bonnet and looking DOWN at me! I felt very small and vulnerable! Wonder how many people realize that the ground actually shakes below your feet when it roars close enough to you...

Thanks for sharing - good lighting, nice pose, rugged and fearsome impression!

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Morkel, what a magnificent male lion. The multi-color mane is the greatest feature here. I'm Ok with him not looking at you, but I wish his eye was a little more open. TFS. Loi

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for your feedback, folks.
Yes, it's blood on his mane - the pride had caught something during the night (in the dunes so out of sight).

[keith mitchell]

Morkel this is one very powerful image, the thoughts I have well covered by the comments above.

Keith.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Morkel ,
Great stuff indeed, really love the powerful look of this very nice male.Great detail and contrast , really lovely processed.Good choice of the F stop.
But sorry hey i am picky , from time to time.So what about the area in the BG above the back and around the mane in parts ? Looks like you masked not properly. Did you work in any way on the BG ?
Asking about coloration of the BG, looks almost identical to the lion fur ?Suggestion from my side would be to treat the BG differently in color slightly to make the king even more pronounced, WDYT! As Steve is saying , albeit subtle tweaks.

Still a great one , love it.

TFS Andreas

[Andre Pretorius]

Great capture Morkel!

What area does this Boy call Home?

Pity when they yawn or roar the eyes are Always partially or completely closed?

The blood adds to the capture.

Nice thinking with F11.

Andreas has a point with the masking

Andre

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Morkel!

Oh, and Mufasa is so beautiful! Would love to know where you found him? Love the light and pose, very dramatic Morkel!!!

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

It just works Morkel, you can feel that roar emerging. Good detail, clarity & colouration!

TFS
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks folks. Andreas - will have a look there but I'm sure I didn't do any selective darkening of the BG here...
Gabriela - he roams between Rooiputs, Kij Kij and Melkvlei and was seen at the new Rooiputs lodge somewhere around end November 2013 again. He used to be seen regularly when he was leader of a pride, but it seems he's been ousted and is now nomadic again. I hope he will take over a pride soon again.

[HadiAnsari]

Hi Morkel.One of the best photos of lion.TFS