Dear Paul......this is Lucy in the sky with Diamonds
Hi all , i will move on with my play i have with oldie wordly film effects .
This time it is the Fuji Provia 100 F , i have used that film in the past if the Velvia was not suiting my needs .
After some research on the net , i found presets for DPP , so i had a play and come up with this .
I slightly changed the settings within DPP , but basically the tone curve and colors are used from that preset.
I have chosen this crop to give the lioness room to follow the bird that was flying over our cars , normally i would go less on top.
This is one of the lionesses Gabriela posted recently after they settled down . I quite like the dreamy look , like she is on Lucy in the sky with Diamonds .
Canon EOS 1Dx
EF 200 - 400 + TC engaged - 560 mm
Window bracket
F 8 ; Iso 800 ; 1/1600 sec , man exp .
Processed in DPP 4 and minimal in PS CC ; cropped for comp
Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous posting .
Hi Andreas - A nice simple portrait of this lioness. The crop works for me though I did wonder what she was looking at. I like the softer tones of this.
Hi Andreas, personally I would lose those front branches, it's cleaner.
Like the lazy posture and gazing look. Might be tempted to add a bit more tone/depth to the environment, but on the laptop so could well be wrong????? Like Dumay, you've lost me on your titles.
Thanks Rachel and Steve for your comment / feedback as always much appreciated .
Steve - you are right about a cleaner look without the branches , but that is a massive thing and it could look too clean to me . So they stay !! I could lower the shadow of the stick , i think that is the biggest issue . Regarding BKG tones (thanks for your example in % ) , they will stay as OP , because i have the light situation in my mind when i was there . Look at the sun angle , it was around 9.30 and the light was already bright and harsh. I already had to wear sunglasses when driving and looking for subjects . I see where you coming from and understand your point ,maybe i would react the same way as you without having been there .
Well titles ...... does not matter that much if i loose one , two or three they (titles ) are only playing a small role , and if i am not able to get something that matches the image exactly i am fine with it . I just find it too boring to write " Lioness looking into the sky .... " . Hope you understand .
Rachel as said in the intro tech lioness was following a bird that was flying around , the reason for looking up .
Steve ,actually i had almost the same tonal thing done and decided against it , and just toned down the HL in the subject , just my 2 cents .
And yes always better if a visual example shows up , you know how much i appreciate that you take time for that .
Andreas, you laughed at me when I said "I have this music in my head when in the Kalahari". I see you had it too, to some extent? The Kalahari does that to some people...I actually like the title, even though it echoes a different kind of music than the one I hear - mine is more like a symphony...
I can see the diamonds in Lucy's eyes as she looks up dear Andreas, in fact your title helped me see what you saw, what appealed to you when pressing the shutter. I did not have a name for this lioness, now thanks to you, I do. By the way, your image tells of her features very well - she has aged gracefully and although she is a fighter she does not have many scars that tell of her many battles. She is in good condition, alert, a teacher to her young, leader of her pride. She knows no fear. No wonder she has kept the old man alive for so many years - I wonder if she misses Freddie sometimes?
I find Lucy to be quite beautiful in her old age, the pose and composition here make this image IMO. Nothing is overdone and all looks natural to me, lovely colours and even the shadows are there - the harsh sun is unforgiving in the Kalahari.
As you know, I am not great on techs and do not pretend to be, I just like this because of Lucy and the diamonds in her eyes and the way you caught her, unaware of your presence, not bothered by the shutter, just one old lioness comfortable in her environment, even though nowadays it is rather filled with people and cars. Lucy has seen it all and does not care...
Maybe more evocative to me than to others - and understandingly so, because I spent some time with the subject over the years - I will remember this photograph for some time. Thank you Andreas, I enjoyed viewing more than you can imagine...
Great pose with both ears cocked towards you, superb colour and IQ. The golden light on the lioness makes those colours pop. I like the shooting angle, nice and low. I feel it is a little of balance the dark shadow on the left and all the weight of the head and shoulders as well as the branches and twigs ,makes the image seem heavy on the LHS. Was moving to your right possible?
She does look a bit "high"
I like the tone you achieved here Andreas. Perhaps we should revert to film and ditch digital then .
I agree with Dumay's assessment on the shadow adding a bit too much visual mass to the LHS, my first reaction upon viewing...
Thanks all for your comments and feedback as always much appreciated .
I do not know if some of you became puzzled , or i got you wrong . . No scanned slide ........ just a film preset for DPP 4 the latest canon soft !!!To give the illusion for the good old film times , well you cannot get the nice organic stuff transferred so it is a tricky thing . At least i have the imagination , and i just tell you what i do in PP.
Regarding the shadow on LHS , no choice to move or avoid the shadow , cars lined up and i was in that jam !!!! So take the image or not .......... well i took it as you can see .
Morkel, this was at 13th borehole, "Lucy" here is lying next to that big tree next to the water tank, diamonds and all:) Exhausted from chasing that giraffe up the hill, she had just returned to lie down and cool off. The other lions are also lying around. Light quite harsh already. Andreas joined us at the sighting few minutes too late, quite a few vehicles already present, it must have been a little frustrating but this is Mata Mata as you know: lots of sightings, lions and cheetahs galore, only you have to put up with the other visitors who also want to see and photograph:) The sticks on the LHS are fallen branches from the tree above.