There is obvious beauty in the power and prowess of the mighty lion, yet at the same time one cannot help but feel some sadness at the thought of this barely born eland lamb whose limp and lifeless body is dragged all over the place. These lion subadults are not hungry, they have had their fill and this is just a game they are playing in order to improve their hunting skills.
The victim is a luckless being that has sunk powerless into the grip of the lions' teeth - an eland newborn - this is a precious image I could never get quite right, it was taken in the harshest light and the characters in it are dragging their victim to the shade. I hope you can help me here, your critique is much welcome and I could do with any suggestions, thank you for viewing.
Hi Gabriela - a poignant scene. You handled the harsh and uneven light well. I like the framing with the lion and kill dominant but the other oof lion looking on. Try opening up the midtones on the main lion and kill to give them a bit of separation from the rest of the scene. It seemed to work when I tried it quickly.
Gabriela
First of all its a great picture capturing an event in anaimal life that happens.Secondly, Iam not a "softie" I have been involved proffessioanally for the p[ast 40 years as managers of 7 National Nature Reserves in the UK
What worries me slightly is the fact that our nature programmes on TV are world reowned they say but they seem to love the bits with an animal getting killed or eaten. All the famous David Attenborough stuff ends up with shots of "the chase ".
OK I know it happens but I cannot sort my self over it. Some say that animals being "predated" move into a state of "not being aware of whats happening " I really hopethey do.
Any way - I digress. Its a f great pic photo wise but not one I would enjoy looking at too much.
Please take these comments in the spirit in which they were intended. I am seventyfive years old and for for some wierd reason , death in any picture gives me the shivers
Hi Gabriela great wording in describing the scene .
Like the capture as is with the OOF lion adding a lot to the scene.A tad more space to the foot would be slightly better from my POV.
Difficult lightning situation and you handled that quite well,like the colors and overall contrast/tone.But as most of the times .... there is room for improvement .
Watch the blacks , they are looking a bit solid . Like wise the sharpening in parts a tad to heavy .
Saying this a played a bit and came up with this , a bit overboard but ...........
Herewith an RP from me, and thank you Rachel for your email and Andreas for RP!
Andreas, I can send you the TIFF if you think you can do more, unfortunately you had to work with an already crunchy image- although I must admit your magic touch shows again. And yes, your Seal images touch perfection - we just did not tell you, I personally was afraid it would all go to your head
This image is really special to me so I appreciate all the help I can get
So...I went much softer here, less contrast and no tweaks, perhaps the lamb is a little too pale but my thinking was - so is death itself? This RP (in my mind) puts a different kind of emphasis on the death of the lamb, not by enhancing its external bodily appearance with more contrast (more evident in my OP and Andreas's RP) but by allowing it to be yellow with that pallor that usually makes one afraid...
I think this might not be the last RP, I look forward to try more versions of this image. With your help, of course!
Some of you might find this to be ugly and displeasing - I am sorry if that is the case. Yet any reply is a sign that the image has involved you emotionally to some extent -which is what I was looking for in the first place
Hi Gabriela , yes it is an improvement in parts , overall a more friendly look by being lighter in the 1/2 and 3/4 tones plus the blacks do look more open.and the lesser contrast is also an improvement.Sharpness looks better , too.
Have you used NR at some point in the progress ? because the lamb looks very soft compared to OP .
Yes i would be interested in the file, but please send me the RAW via "We Transfer" , quick and easy , i will wait........ i am off work the next days , so should find a time window for this.
I am not displeased or do find this ugly , i think no need to sorry for a posted image.......... my 2 cents.You just have to stand the critiques , if they come negative.
Ps :............. go to my head ,not understand the phrase ............. what head ? ,wearing the Seal Crown already i thought with a touch of perfection .
Ps II : my kid named "1Dx" is on the way back to daddy , no Euros to pay ...... luckily still under warranty .
Have a nice evening and say hi to Andre , tell him he should come back in here.
Cheers Andreas
Last edited by Andreas Liedmann; 07-30-2014 at 03:49 PM.
Andreas, I did not do any NR on the lamb when I re-processed this the other night. In 2012 I was a a little rough with my processing and this is quite obvious in the OP. I used to kill those sliders when it came to contrast and levels, as well as curves. The result was a crunchy image, often over sharpened and not much detail present in the blacks either. I thought about this a lot the other day and eventually decided to let the lamb be a lamb - soft, pale, and with the blueish tinge characteristic to death- a sacrificial lamb, in other words. In this new version he is no longer a "fresh kill", but a limp, lifeless, almost colourless and deformed body (see missing part of front limb). Here "softness" is somehow synonymous with "weakness", and I liked the idea. Will send you the file, would love to see what you can do with it and your interpretation of things...
And yes, you are entitled to "wear the Seal Crown" - you deserve it my friend, 100%! Glad your baby is on its way home, you will need it soon
Andre says hi, he will be back soon, just busy in the workshop lately building things...(he is a man of many talents)
Of Beauty and Death
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. And yes, your Seal images touch perfection - we just did not tell you, I personally was afraid it would all go to your head
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,wearing the Seal Crown already i thought with a touch of perfection 
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