Here's a Spotted Hyena checking out two lionesses with two lion cubs arriving at the scene. There's fear and indecision in this Spotty's eyes as she calculates the possible outcomes of a close encounter. Despite the fact that she was in the company of a few larger and more mature members of her clan, she dashed to safety moments after I took this frame, feet in the air, looking back to the big mama lion in pursuit. I would love to share those frames with you some day:)
LR adjustments and then some curves, levels and D/B in PSCC as well as sharpening for web. A 50% crop and horizontal flip.
Nikon D4
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 2000
F7.1
1/3200s
Too much ISO I know, but this girl moved from shade to a more sunny spot and I wasn't quick enough to change settings. I couldn't, was busy watching the lionesses with the corner of my eye and trying to decide where to point the camera. In the end I got a bit of both... The lioness image was shared in this forum not long ago.
What happened here was quite interesting from the behaviour POV, this hyena clan was enjoying a dip inside a waterhole one early morning in the Kalahari when suddenly two lionesses arrived to drink. Two little cubs were walking behind them. A moment of stillness followed with all characters staring at each other, seconds later one of the lionesses dashed for the hyenas while the other climbed the nearest dune with the little ones. The hyenas took no chances, they immediately scattered in all directions and thus made it difficult for the lioness to follow, she eventually lost interest and returned to her family.
I think my story is probably more interesting than the frame itself, but I plan to put together a Story Sequence with some images from this sighting. Hope you all remember to sneak a peek into Story Sequences Forum from time to time. You don't have to of course, but if would be great if you found some time to browse through the latest posts and maybe pass a comment or two, I am sure those photographers who took the trouble to share their work would greatly appreciate it
Hope you all had a pleasant Monday and I wish you a wonderful rest of the week,
Gabriela you have some lovely detail on this animals face it does look like it's been in the wars with the piece missing out of it's ear and all the little details on the nose.You mention the iso level is it departmental to have it to high?it's something In often wonder about and what would be an optimum shutter speed to aim for. Interesting reading your story.
Hi Gabriela - It has held up fairly well to the large crop. Nice inquisitive look and a bit of character from this fellow with the chunk out of his ear and the bit of drool.
Keith - Generally the higher the ISO the more noise in an image and less detail so traditionally high ISO had a detrimental effect on IQ. Advances in both gear and post processing software have made it less of a problem in capture and easier to deal with in post. However, I still try to use the lowest ISO possible to have sufficient exposure at the ss and aperture that I want. Gabriela had more than enough ss here to drop both ISO and ss. The optimal ss depends upon whether you are using support, how steady you hand hold if no support and whether the subject is static or on the move. Here, with a static subject, Gabriela could have likely dropped the ss (and so the ISO) to 1/1000 using the old adage of having a ss twice the focal length used. If you want a little more than 1/1250 or 1/1600 would still have been plenty. Some will be able to capture a sharp image with significantly less ss too.
Gabriela, sorry for taking this a bit off topic but I thought Keith's question merited discussion.
Keith, good of you to ask this question, allow me to give you my thoughts at the time. If you read my intro carefully, I said something along the lines "I was not quick enough to change settings". Just imagine this busy scene, on my left some hyenas moving about, scattering, some in deep shade and some not. Two lionesses with cubs in front of the vehicle, slightly to the right, coming down the road. I wanted to grab some action from both sides, also anticipated a chase and had to be prepared. Two cameras (one with 300mm and the other with 500mm lens), I had to think of settings for both. Yes, things can get confusing a bit so I usually play it safe and anticipate the worst lighting conditions (such as subjects running under trees, etc). I also account for speed, a clash between the characters, that scuffle one would not want to miss. I agree, 1/1000s would have been enough for this particular hyena, she was not running yet and was in decent light. So ISO 1000, maybe F8 instead of F7.1. My settings did serve me well a few moments later as things started happening, please take a few moments and have a look at Andre's post in Story Sequences, the title is "Eternal Enemies" - it will give you a good idea of the various lighting conditions at the scene as well as what happened next
I am very grateful for your thoughtful questions and replies, many thanks again!
Thanks Rachel and Gabriela that as cleared up a few points for me,I will print them .Gabriela I have been on the story sequences and looked at Andre's fine work.
Hi Gabriela -- I am relatively new to this forum and what i have seen of your work always makes me feel that your images are of very high quality and also very inspirational since you must have started new on this forum like few of us right now .
This image is another cracking portrait though the ss seems excessive but the IQ looks very good to me . Also that drool is adding to this image , emaculate details in the frame and nicely composed as well .
Dear Keith and Haseeb, you are just too kind Thank you so much.
Keith, I do not know what other photographers do in the field but there are a couple of things that work for me: SS must never be lower than the size of my lens (eg. I try to have at least 1/800s for a still subject when using my 500F4, and I can get away with 1/500s with the 300F2.8, as long as I have good support and do not breathe when I press the shutter, LOL). If subject moves or is about to move, 1/1200s. If there's action happening (hyena or lion or jackal squabble or play) then at least 1/2000s. For a cheetah chase I would go for 1/2500s, same goes for a rabbit running:) BIF 1/2500s or more, depending on speed (the lanner falcon flies like a bullet but I still managed a couple of sharp shots at 1/3200s). Of course, you have to think about the ISO and it all depends on how far you can push it with your gear without getting noise you cannot fix. To me a bit of noise is more acceptable than an unsharp image so I try compromise. If not sure, I experiment - when I get home I download and learn from my mistakes.
Haseeb, coming here from a website where everyone commented "good shot" and "brilliant pic", I posted my first image in Wildlife in Feb 2013 and thought everyone was going to love it :) Then came the humbling part: "blacks too chocked, too much sharpening overall, etc." I knew so little, sometimes I did not understand what my critics wanted me to do. Was trying desperately to learn, sometimes doing 4-5 or more RP's to an image until everyone agreed it was an improvement. On BPN one learns something every day. A photographer should always remain humble and open to suggestions, regardless of how successful or popular he is. Or thinks he is:) All I am trying to do is draw you guys in, tell a story. As long as you keep looking, I will keep posting:)
Can't add much here, Gabriela.
Great portrait and it held up to the crop.
I need to pop into "Story Sequences" more often, but as you know things are quite a juggle for me these days
Morkel, I understand. I make a point of mentioning the SS Forum from time to time because it seems many members are not aware of its existence. I should pop in to Landscapes too. I do lurk there from time to time although sadly I don't have anything to share. I used to love Macro photography but I seem to have given up, just not enough time to do it all
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead, warmest regards
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Thank you so much. 
