I believe a photographer has to be at least half in love with lions to properly understand them and capture their moods. In this case, the presence of the Polentswa Wanderer stirred me immediately. He was not part of a pride or a coalition and cordially disliked by other males who avoided him. His appearances gave me great pleasure each and every time, but with a slight degree of frustration as he refused to make eye contact. In fact he ignored me completely and carried on about his business as if I did not even exist...I did manage to capture him here with an inquisitive, energetic, stalking pose. Loved the focus and concentration in his eyes, hope you do too?
Nikon D5
Nikon 500mmF4
ISO 5000
F6.3
1/1600s
In retrospect I wish I had more SS for finer detail. Was afraid to push the ISO too much. I hope the presence of those grass tips does not bother you, I personally found them quite charming. Thank you for viewing - I really appreciate your comments and critique, be it of a technical nature or otherwise.
Gabriela you are showing us some very different subjects Rat's one day then this superb male Lion the next,perhaps better eyes than mine could see (In retrospect I wish I had more SS for finer detail) what you say but it all looks great to me,beautiful texture and softness on the mane,the expression he gives looks like he's lost and would like to be else ware,I'm ok with the grass heads apart from maybe the one under the mane but that's been really picky,love looking at this.
Gabby,mate, some utterly awesome images of late honestly.As with Keith the diversity you are posting is amazing but the quality too. I can only say I'd have to see this much bigger to see where more detail of a finer nature is or could be. The ghostly grasses I find complementary non distracting at all.But in many ways like Haseeb's image of "Dotty" straight towards him. This, for me at least, has that utter intensity of stare that for me only big cats do. I love the crop the reddish tinge base of mane layers in BKG. Gabby i'm a wreck battered completely, had to say how cool I think this is before falling alsseep and dreaming of long legs and ears. One of my favourites already and I'll look longer and harder tomorrow.
He he the guys can do the techs now,that's otherwise sorted
Gabby don't we have to be half in love with any subject to really capture them?
Seriously well done ,like Hassebs Dotty I've got the shivvers that says it all for me
Kind words from you both which I appreciate as always.
If you have the time please click on the link below under " Similar Threads" and have a look at Mark Wiseman's Polentswa Landscape - it was taken at the same location. Also interesting to see how PP work was done in those days:) BTW Mark sponsored two waterholes in the Kalahari some years back which I am so grateful for as they gave me some amazing sightings. We are in touch from time to time as we share the same love for the place and its wildlife.
Kind words from you both which I appreciate as always.
If you have the time please click on the link below under " Similar Threads" and have a look at Mark Wiseman's Polentswa Landscape - it was taken at the same location. Also interesting to see how PP work was done in those days:) BTW Mark sponsored two waterholes in the Kalahari some years back which I am so grateful for as they gave me some amazing sightings. We are in touch from time to time as we share the same love for the place and its wildlife.
Hope you both have a wonderful Sunday,
Gabriela,very brief,don't want to stray too far from topic ,but wanted to say thank you , properly. Utterly fascinating(pp side) and a stunning image to boot ,good for Mark on the waterholes,it must be amazing to be able to travel and do things like that.
Nice, intense stare Gabriela, the side profile works well, likewise the crop, but perhaps a fraction/sliver more above??? Agree with Keith on the grass, but cloning might be a nightmare, however as you say that is the environment, perhaps there might be a compromise? 1/1600SS, perhaps a fraction less, there is always a trade off and the factor of light too, so maybe ISO3200 and f/5.6 as he is square on????
Not sure if this is morning or evening, but just to put a twist on the image which again - may, or may not help the grasses, just an option and thinking out load???
Let us play... Here's another version, I went for pink instead and did a quick removal of the troublesome grass. I suppose I could do it better if I had more patience, it's a bit sloppy I know.
Image was taken at 7:25 pm by the way, light was fading fast.
Hi Gabriela - I like your last rp the best. The negative space works for me and the now more muted grasses. I like the light hitting the eye and the tones look good. I am curious about your comment about wanting more ss. 1/1600 should be sufficient to freeze action on a sauntering lion and avoid motion blur. At this size the detail and sharpness look fine. Are you seeing motion blur at 100% of the RAW?
Thank you so much for comments above, I so appreciate it.
My RP is based to a great extent on Steve's suggestions. After looking at his RP I tried to improve tonality and added a bit of canvas at the top. I then decided to go for what I thought was a more natural colour for those bothersome grass tips. Image was taken late afternoon, the light might have lost some of its sweetness but somehow I prefer this warmer look.
Regarding SS: I do not see motion blur as such but this is almost FF so I would expect finer detail, especially on the face of the lion - it seems a tad too soft for my liking.
Hi Gabriela ....lovely little boy
Awesome guy and the gaze of him is great .... i bet he checked out his flying enemy .
Crop works for me , i am not bothered by the grasses at all. I think sometimes this kind of angle foes look better than head on ......my take . Lovely separation between subject and BG .I think overall it does look a bit flat .....your RP has improved it .
Here is just my take based on your OP .....
TFS Andreas
This is a Polentswa boy, looking at a red hartebeest in the distance.
Your version is much richer in tonality than mine. Was just thinking, as photographers we often paint our subjects more vibrant and colourful than they really are. Myself included. But if the end product looks good and just about everyone likes it, I should be happy. The other day I had a request to provide a rhino image for a travel magazine, this was an older frame and processed long ago so kind of too colourful, if you know what I mean... I reprocessed it and sent it to them but the editor replied "...no, I want that colourful one, this is boring...". I was baffled and disappointed at first but then realised this is probably what people want to see. So yes, I will still be careful not to go overboard, but at the same time I realise a flat image does not appeal to anyone, I must keep trying to find the right balance
Hi Gabriela -- I think I will go with Steve and Andreas Version , it has some better tonality as well as hint of warmth. I loved the grass , they are adding a different mood to the image , otherwise it would have been too sterile. Great going !
Lovely shot Gabriela, I cannot comment on colours and tones because my computer is being fixed (2 new hard drives and only 1 year old!). I like the richer tones in the reposts and he surely looks a handsome chap.
Polentswa Wanderer
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Originally Posted by Gabriela Plesea
Naughty of me I know, I just thought we'd have a bit of a laugh
