I just have this desire to post this, despite the fact that I cut the chin of this pretty punk-face and perhaps the PP work is kind of sloppy too but it is late at night and there just no time for a rework...
You guessed right, it is full frame...And yes Morkel, you made me give in to temptation and I am already concocting some plans to get that 200mm lens sometime soon...
Nikon D4
Nikon 300mm
ISO 2500
1/1000s
F6.3 (would have gone to F7.1 or F8 if I could move my right hand, unfortunately I was on my knees on the floor of the vehicle, squeezed between the seats and barely holding the equipment while pointing it back at this lion... when he growled at me I just had time for this one shot... Love the mean grimace despite the small size of his teeth - yeah, still a baby but he can cause some damage...I sat still until he relaxed and only then I returned to my seat. Mommy was around and the sheer size of her head and powerful body made me think twice before attempting again the same photographic gymnastics...)
really nice, great expression. Wish the head wasn't slightly clipped at the bottom.
Related to my "Hyrax" image, here to my eyes the fur is ever so slightly over sharpened, this is what I said that fur is a pain to sharpen, feathers are so much easier.
Hi Gabriela - What a great snarl he gave you. Excellent detail. Is that blood on his whiskers? I know you say this is ff but presume you mean vertically only because it is a square crop. I would give just the tiniest sliver of more room on the lhs. Too bad about the chin but we have all done that at some point in the heat of the moment. I agree with Dvir and would back off on the sharpening just slightly.
I don't think you need much arm twisting to get the 70-200 lens. It's a great lens for safaris, especially if you can off-road or for shooting animalscapes.
Not a pose that you could let go, Gabriela! Just a tad over-sharpened (top of nose) and a little tight as you already know, but still a keeper in my books!
FWIW: I agree with Rachel - at first I kept a 150-500 on my camera on safaris but after burning my fingers a few times with too-close scenes I'm now keeping the 70-200 on the camera (maybe with a TC14 II, based on a gut-feel for that particular trip).
Hi Gabriela, great details in this one, I only could repeat what the others suggested. However the 70-200mm is my fake 200-400 &1.4x
I used the 70-200 about 80% on my last trip! With converter or without. Many landscape images are done with the 70-200 as well, nop no converter than attached :))
Get one, assign it to one body, if you can and leave it one it. Take 1-2 days on a trip you only shot with that one, you will see what you can accomplish. I love mine, no need to get the Fiat 500 price tag 200-400 when I see that the 70-200 can accomplish just the same and gives me a tad more range.
Ah you shoot Nikon, shame that because the Canon 70-200 f2.8 II and the TCs (yes even with a 2xTC it is AMAZING).... oh well. ;)
I find the sharpening a bit too much, especially as focus seems to be the nose, I would try and mask out the snout 50% and try to equalize the sharpness a little to give the eyes more pop. Might not work full size but for posteing here it will work. :) Great snarl though, wish it were mine. (I say that alot :) )
Really enjoyed reading your comments and glad you did not tell me to dump it...I would have done it if you said so, since I trust your views and opinions.
I said this before, I am struggling with the sharpening since I have been wearing reading glasses, just cannot find a balance. My images are either over or under-sharpened. So I went and reduced my sharpening here by 50%, let us see what it looks like...Still overcooked?
You have all convinced me I need this lens, making plans to buy myself a little present at Xmas...Nikon has a lovely 70-200mm and I have borrowed Andre's a couple of times. I do have an older one which he has lent me some time ago, I might take it to the Kalahari next month and just see how it performs...I have a teleconverter but I do not like using it
Dear Neil - I love Nikon, we also sell Nikon equipment in our shop Their service is excellent and this is but one good reason to stick with them, we are 600 km away from their head office (it's Africa!) and I courier my equipment for service and calibration and have it back within a day or two. Thank you so much for your comments, and let us know when you decide to travel to South Africa, lots of "gnarling lions" around here and we'll try help you find and photograph them
Hi Gabriela love this tight snarl shot with very nice colors and a good tight framing , like bang in the face !!!!!!!!!!!!
Very good detail but sharpening in OP looks a bit too much , not that much though , gave you suggestion on your B/W to avoid this and how.
Very nice contrast and a lot of tones to look at .I just feel it look flat a fraction, as always matter of taste .
RP comes with a simple levels layer /masked out the really bright HL and the HL slider pushed to the point where the graph starts to climb ( think it was 215)
And i softened the sharpening a fraction , at least i tried to . Sharpening is looking better in your RP already , meaning looking good now.
I obviously missed this but well shot. I agree with whats already been commented on and Andreas's repost has made a huge difference too. We'll just have to get more opportunities to try again
Dear Carl, it was great to see you again today! Once again I thank you from the heart for allowing us such intimate encounter with lions. That day I had forgotten to take my sun hat along, at some point strong wind and the sun peeping through the clouds made me rather uncomfortable but as soon as we found the lions I completely forgot about it, later hoped that you (or Andre) won't notice my burning face because I did not want to leave, all I wanted was to spend more time with them. I like the sound of " we'll just have to get more opportunities to try again", it makes me so happy to think that you would not mind sharing again your amazing opportunities with us! Indeed Andreas' RP is a huge improvement, I thank him for his time and for sharing his knowledge and I thank you too for your thoughts!
Attitude...
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...I would have done it if you said so, since I trust your views and opinions. 
Their service is excellent and this is but one good reason to stick with them, we are 600 km away from their head office (it's Africa!) and I courier my equipment for service and calibration and have it back within a day or two
