Smack Down

[Rachel Hollander]

These 2 members of the Hollywood Pride had a quick, friendly disagreement over a buffalo carcass in South Luangwa N.P., Zambia.

Canon 7D2
100-400 II @ 400mm
1/800
f5.6
ISO 400
HH from safari vehicle, slight crop for comp, levels, curves, sharpened in PSCC. I wish the branch had not been there but it was so it stays for me.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel , what a drama in that left hand lioness .... looking very good . I can almost feel her anger about ...what ? Without reading your intro i actually would not think what she made her aggressive .
I am 50/50 on the right hand cub ?
Color , tone and detail are looking quite good to me . The twig is not a very nice element , but nothing you can do about it so no big deal with it .
But the lioness on LHS makes this image for me ..... i like it .

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Andreas. They are both full size lionesses. The one on the right is covered with blood and other stuff. She had spent a long time in the body cavity of the buffalo to extract the liver. The lioness on the left decided she wanted that tasty morsel.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Mike Poole]

A real split opinion from me on this one. Techs great, and the lioness on the left is just about perfect, you can really get a feel for her mood, and I love the slight movement in the paw.

Unfortunately the right 3rd of the frame is weak with the twig being especially annoying. Granted there was nothing you could have done about it, its just a real shame, as without it the clearer view of the right hand lioness wold have worked despite her facing away.

Mike

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dearest Rachel,

Interesting image and it got me thinking so I took my time to reply. Lots to look at here, including the little butterfly upside down...

So here it goes, just my thoughts:

1.Frame was probably taken in harsh light and the subjects' colour very similar to the BG, but really nice PP work from you to make them both stand out. 1/800s helped that paw blur a little, works for me:)

2.Branch is not that unfortunate IMO. It contributes to the dramatic content of the frame, and to strengthening the perception that the lioness on the LHS is busy "punishing" the other one.

3. I really love the moment you captured here. Would have liked more colour and vibrance, maybe more "pop" on the main protagonist, but perhaps not possible. She is indeed sharp and some nice detail on her where it matters most. This lioness is not in a mood to share and therefore has her say, with a brief swat of that strong paw she enforces her dominance over her sibling who turns away in submission, humiliated. You have managed to transport me to the scene dear Rachel, and that's what matters. You also managed to portray a degree of hostility and competition among predators, which is part of their everyday life. So to me a very appropriate Theme image and - just like Marc's recent post - a great behavioural frame.

4.To all predators food is worth fighting for. They don't like half portions so aggression and sometimes retaliation is always there, all part of survival. I never lose interest in lions because I find the species so interesting in terms of behaviour. Over the years I noticed that fights within a pride rarely lead to serious injuries, they are there to establish hierarchy. I guess this was just a little squabble, the usual smack down. It usually only lasts seconds, and since lions do have the power to forget, those two were probably friends again soon and ready to tackle the next victim together:)

Thank you Rachel for sharing, and I hope you had a great week-end. I am busy booking my Kalahari trip for next year and quite excited at the prospect of bringing back some more lion images

Warmest regards,

[Jonathan Ashton]

Looks very dramatic Rachel, yes I like it too. You have good separation of the lioness and the background she really stands out, I appreciate things are a little untidy on the RHS but I find it acceptable give the attention the one on the LHS demands.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Mike, Gabriela and Jon, much appreciated. I wish the lioness on the right had not taken the liver to by nearby bush but she did and that is where the action happened.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Rachel, a very interesting image and composition. Nice sharpness, detail and that raised paw makes it a fine one.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- Another lovely big cat image from you. I loved that expression on the lioness and the blurred paw works in this case. Not to mention abt the other lion, its already been discussed above. I think you have handled that harsh light quite well and you have got some good separation from the BG .
To my eyes the face appears a bit soft compared to the remaining body ( of the main subject ) , i think a bit more ss would have helped tremendously.

TFs !

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, well timed to have captured the 'swinging right' and I like the intent in her face. I do like the blood on both Lionesses too. I see you were at full zoom, thus the 'tight' crop, which Im sure you planned. Did you capture other images in this sequence zoomed out a bit more? Being in an open vehicle, surely you could have leaned over and removed the twig.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Sanjeev, Haseeb and Stu. Stu- I'll have to take a look if any more zoomed out. I don't think so and skirmish was over quickly.

Thanks again,
Rachel