Spent most of Sunday with this lioness and her 3 boys. Andre and Gabriela shared this time with me and it was a good session. This shot was taken trying to hang out the side of the vehicle as they are had all moved late pm to lie down right behind the landrover and it was difficult to move our position as we were in a very eroded donga area and they were 2m to the rear.
Mom is oof animal resting chin on sons back.
Cropped off LHS - tip of ear touching top not ideal!
1d MK iv - Canon 300mm f2,8 mk ii
Basics in ACR - PS CC 14 - levels, curves, burn layer, sat layer
Hi Carlm you had great details in here. Would have loved to see more of Mom. I'm not sold on this High Key B&W conversion, I think a bit more contrast may help the image. Loi
Hi Carl - It looks like the 3 of you enjoyed some good lion interaction. I like the conversion here. It's a bit different. Nice sharpness and detail. I too would prefer to see more of mom but we can't always get the perfect pose or angle in the wild. Agree with your self-critique about being tight on top. I might also dodge the darker streak in the ulc. Looking forward to seeing more from this sighting.
Hi Carl , i quite like the tightness of the frame even if the clipped ear is not ideal , go for the 200-400 , helps from time to time if the action is not too hectic.
I am 50/50 on the conversion , agree with Rachel being different ! What bothers me slightly is the fact that all looks the same in tonality,subject and BKG. You can overcome and make the subjects stand out more by reducing the contrast and overall lightness of the BKG .Or go even lighter in the BKG.
I am fine with mom being partly hidden , very nice detail.
But for the clipped ear this is superb. Heck, it is superb even with the clipped ear. I love the B&W treatment and the wonderful juxtaposition with the eye of the 2nd animal just peeking at us.
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Oh Carl, I would give my right hand to have this experience again! NO, my left hand, I still need the right hand to press that shutter again!
I love this, love the moment you captured, loved being there watching, mesmerised...This is so fresh in my memory, the arrival of Mom while the three youngsters were waiting - remember their reaction? I turned to look back and there she was, running towards them, running past the open vehicle - she was so big, so powerful, for once I felt like sinking back on my seat, not quite afraid but feeling rather small...
Lovely detail, agree with Andreas that the BG could be a tad softer to make the lions stand out, I really find it hard to judge here because I am so involved emotionally with the subjects, having been there at the time the image was taken. Don't mind the clipped ear, this is surely full frame, you can add canvas if you like. And dear Carl, I know there's so much more, please share the rest of the images...I have over a thousand frames for the day, not sure where to begin - you must have the same. Thank you for the most amazing Sunday, by the way, it will stay with me for a very long time...
Apologies for being so scarce on BPN Wildlife lately, busy expanding the business and working from dawn to dusk, will be back soon...
Thanks all for the pointers and comments. I did try a few different versions but really stuck on this one. I'll play around with it a bit more and see where it leads me.