This is one from the sighting that Steve posted a couple of weeks back. The lions had taken down a buffalo the night before at the bottom of a steep bank down to the dry river bed. It wasn't far from Kings Camp in the Timbavati Game Reserve but it was a treacherous drive down the bank and we were often sitting at a precarious angle to capture the various lions chowing down. Interestingly, males from a couple of different coalitions took turns feeding on the carcass. It was thought that the coalition of three brothers, two of which are in this image, were the ones who actually made the kill. When we first arrived the three were at least a couple hundred meters away in the river bed observing another male eating. He left and they came to take their fill but always alert to whether the other male was going to return. The other male was part of a coalition of 2 but his buddy was off mating with the female that usually traveled with these 3 lions (my image of the mating lions posted earlier was taken the day before). Later Topsy Turvy/Ntsongwaan appeared but kept his distance from the lions and the kill while we were there. Overall, it was a great last morning for us in the Timbavati.
I'm not sure if the lion is cleaning something off his brother's head, had pulled something off the carcass or was just checking us out for a moment but I love the intense eye contact here as the light finally started to hit the face. It's a little tight on top but again the hazards of a fixed lens. I was trying to get close-ups of the two munching when he looked up. This is ff.
Canon 7D
300 II
1/320
f5.6
ISO 800
Beanbag from safari vehicle, ff, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, sharpened in CCPS.
Whatever this male is doing, it's his lookup that makes the image here Rachel, granted a little tight on top and the grass stalks are a tad distracting, but this is wildlife photography afterall.
Hi Rachel , understand why you like this because of the eye contact , i am with you on this one.
Great that you tell the story behind the image , makes it more understandable what was happening around the carcass.
Like previous post , really lovely processed for the 7D.
Agree about being a bit tight on top , but you could have moved the cam slightly upwards to avoid this and loose some from the bottom , easy with hindsight.
Eye contact makes it for sure. You are nailing the 7D file IQ, Rachel...only thing is the lions' coats has that "sooty" look to them - perhaps do slight shadow lift and warming filter on them?
I could even see you shaving some off the top to remove the "curved back" and have the frame end just above his ears?
Thanks Mark, Andreas and Morkel for the comments and suggestions. Will take a look at the shadows. And yes, Andreas, I certainly could have and should have just moved the camera slightly but didn't notice the tightness in the field.
Awesome moment captured Rachel, the side-lit left eye, the gaze, the kill all make this image a keeper. The PP looks great & Morkel & Andreas made some good suggestions. TFS the story as well.
Lovely eye contact. I can see what Morkel mentioned in the shadows. Super sharpening technique in especially on the meat and bones. Great texture there. Interesting you say that different coalitions were feeding. Nice one Rachel.
Great eye contact here, which is not easy to capture given that lions often look down when they are tucked into a meal like this. I also love the sharpness and details on the kill. Agree with suggestions made by others, and I too would crop down from the top a bit, as the "hump" on the neck and stick protruding from the lower back add nothing to the drama of the image. A tighter crop will actually make the intense eye contact that much more vivid. I would also try to tone down those brightest grasses on the left, as they draw my eye away from the main focal point of the image. I might also consider doing some work on the left eye (lion's right eye) to make it "pop" a bit more (e.g., brightness, saturation). All minor nit-picky things, but overall a great capture! TFS
Great image indeed Rachel, nice detail and lovely eye contact. I do agree with some of the other, as per Morkel i would possibly lift the shadows a little and a slight warming filter will add some nice colour, the crop im ok with works well, i would just perhaps tone down the red of the carcass a little as it is quite bright, naturally so, but it also catches the eye quite a bit.
Hi Rachel, a bit late to this party. Your introduction made for good reading, and you timed the stare perfectly, great eye contact here. I really like the finer detail on the lion's head/face/mane, and the show of some of the carcass adds to the overall image. Well captured.
I get shivers down my spine when a lion looks at me like that...Love the title, love the story Rachel, and especially the eye contact- whew, great timing!
I too like to see the carcass, adds context and makes it more dramatic. Cannot comment on colour, I am viewing on the laptop and every time I tilt the screen the colors look different, will take another look on Monday, just wanted to say I like this very much and I do not find it too tight on top (also glad you did not trim from the RHS - check the belly index of this lion!!!)
Hi Rachel, I wanted to wait & see what thoughts were had on this.
Personally I think you hit the overall colour etc pretty spot on, it is a trick on based on 'perception/recollection' & what the camera actually captured, albeit we have different thoughts on colour settings . Although the sun was out, in parts the light offered often a dull, flat colour, even bordering a more cold look & feel, especially in the shadow of the hill.
Waiting to get the sunlight and the eye contact was worth it, as it does light that eye up nicely. I also like the comp, but I might have preferred the 5D on this only to give a bit more room and a little latitude on the crop, for me it's a tad tight to the top and to have more space above I think would have been better.