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Thread: Shadow for Company

  1. #1
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Default Shadow for Company

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    Dear Friends,

    I spent this entire week-end looking through recent posts in Wildlife and was delighted to find so many interesting images!

    I also went through my recent Kalahari folders and I hope to share with you some interesting moments over the next few weeks. I might have already mentioned to some of you that the place was more hostile than ever in terms of weather and we had to cope with high temperatures and harsh lighting conditions. Our itinerary included Rooiputs and Polentswa on the Botswana side of the Park, and Nossob and Mata Mata on the South African side. We had a number of lion sightings but also cheetah with cubs on a kill, brown hyena on a carcass and spotted hyena, and not to forget the mischievous and very cunning Blackjacked Jackal...

    I have already uploaded a few images of a recent and quite memorable sighting in our new forum entitled " Story Sequences", to demonstrate the way in which Blackjacked Jackals hunt when stealing from other predators is not possible. Busy now working on a few frames of springbok running, in the meantime I would like you to have a look at this lioness - for some reason I decided to allow for this contrasty look, I did remove some of the yellows and orange but did not lift the shadows...

    I really did not want to lose what a saw at the time, and the impression this powerful lioness made on me - shadowed by her offspring, she was walking away from the water just as the sun rose above the red dunes at 6:30 in the morning.

    Let me know of your likes and dislikes, also if you can think of any way to improve this image. I did have a tamer version of this but discarded it, I wanted to retain both the warmth and the dark shadows - an unusual thing for me to do, given that I always seek to reveal as much detail as possible when it comes to facial features.

    Techs:

    Nikon D4
    Nikon 500mm F4
    ISO 800
    F5.6
    1/3200s

    NB. The green on the muzzle and jaw is algae from the water she drank at the waterhole.



    Wishing you all a great week ahead,
    Last edited by Gabriela Plesea; 03-01-2015 at 03:36 PM.
    Gabriela Plesea

  2. #2
    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela ....... simply stunning with the mirrored lioness in the BG !!! All works very well together .Nothing more to add from my side .

    Enjoyed watching , TFS yours Mr B.E.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela - I too like it as is. The comp works well with the powerful front leg as the edge and the hint of the mirrored youngster in the bg. Excellent details and sharpness. No reason to lift the shadows IMO.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    BPN Member Douglas Bolt's Avatar
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    Well done! I like the crop that includes a bit of the shoulder. It adds some more power to the image and the beast.
    Douglas Bolt
    DougBoltPhotography.com

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    I like the image in the BG. Works perfectly with the primary subject.....
    Dan Kearl

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    I like the detail and color. The ghostly image of the lion in the back adds some nice subtle detail to the monochrome BG.

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    Forum Participant christopher galeski's Avatar
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    its all been said Gabriela,very nce image,good detail,and I too like the BG,well done.

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    Lovely light and tones. Amazing texture and details. Not sure if more DOF like F9-f10 would have been more ideal to see more detail in the lioness in the BG or if it would have been more of a distraction. I love looking at your work.

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    Forum Participant BenBotha's Avatar
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    I like it as it is, agree with comments. TFS!!
    Ben

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Lovely image here Gabriela, wonderful lighting and the overall quality are first rate here, however it's the BG symmetry of the cub that takes this above the normal portrait,

    An alternate title could also be "In her image"


  11. #11
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you all from the heart, such generous comments and I am so grateful for your feedback! I think I must show you her cubs, if only to repay you for taking the time to view this image Working on it, back soon:)

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Really a well balanced photo and for me a perfect choice of dof. Would be very nice on a big canvas.

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    The balance and mirroring between the pair make this a real 'wow' shot. The details on the single lion alone are spot on, but adding the second really make this something a bit special for me.

  14. #14
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Dear Mr JF and Mike,

    I am so happy you find this pleasing to the eye, and I cannot wait to share more with you! Thank you from the heart for your kind comments, very encouraging:)

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Gabriela, very nice work.

    TFS
    Steve

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