Right hook

[Steve Kaluski]

More of a grab shot, caught both Mum and I off guard with this one as I was watching the other cubs. Exposed for the subjects and let the BKG do whatever as that can be dealt with in PP.

Thanks to those who posted or viewed the previous thread.

Steve

Subject: Lion cub (Panthera leo) swiping Mum
Location: Botswana
Camera: Canon 1DX MKII
Lens: 200-400f/4 HH
Exposure: 1/2000s at f/5.6 ISO1000
Original format: Portrait, cropped slightly from the top
Processed via: LR Classic CC & PSCC2018

[Gabriela Plesea]

Good evening Steve,

How cute! I cannot help but imagine that the little one lost balance and fell after this

I like the eye contact between mom and cub - this is a fun image with lots of tenderness. Mom is relaxed and patient, no protests and no growling, she is enjoying the attention from her cub - an intimate moment well captured:)

Great techs as usual, good detail and natural colours. Would be curious to know how you dealt with the BG, I would have probably dropped exposure a tad, reduced brightness and maybe added some yellow to the whites if necessary.

Composition works for me as it places emphasis on the cub and the vegetation helps balance the frame nicely.

You must have been delighted, witnessing this. I really enjoyed viewing, thank you so much Steve

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

I cannot help but imagine that the little one lost balance and fell after this

Not quite, Mum had a snarl and the cub went off to the others, perhaps suitably chastised?

Great techs as usual, good detail and natural colours.

Room for improvement on the techs, took my eye off the ball, rookie mistake, but hey...

Would be curious to know how you dealt with the BG

There are many ways Gabriela, the main thing is keeping the exposure right and getting the full data without blowing the Highlights, pulling the BKG back is then easy providing you have the data. Exposure blends, double processing, graduate layers, luminosity layers.... etc, it all can be achieved and the colour all comes from the initial colour balance, it's choosing what works. But capturing the data and then controlling the initial file is key and the bedrock to the image, knowing what to leave out is the hard part.

You must have been delighted

Yes, because its different and when you have all the time to spend with a pride like this, it really helps.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - Not bad for a grab shot. Love the interaction between the cub and mom. I think you can drop the overall exposure by .25. It just gives a little more depth to the tones of the lions as well as taming the bg slightly. I find the brightness of the bg drawing the eye so would try to tame it more. It's a fun image and looks like the cub may fall backwards with a bit more follow through on the hook.

TFS,
Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Steve,

I will drop you a mail regarding techs one of those evenings, if I may

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

I will drop you a mail regarding techs one of those evenings, if I may

Fine, I'll be spending a couple of days over Easter re thinking and learning again on some basics and changes that have taken place - never to old to learn about key aspects & techniques, so even I go back to school every now and then. Plus I also need get some prep work done for later this year, fun, fun, fun...

[Gabriela Plesea]

Then let us chat after Easter, Steve

Time is flying though...Prep work is needed if one wants to have fun, fun, fun

[John Mack]

This is quite different from the lion frames i have seen on here. That is why i like it. I don't mind the bright background. The interaction is nice. Looks like you were almost eye level with them.

[Steve Kaluski]

Looks like you were almost eye level with them.

That's what you want to achieve John.

[Glenn Pure]

Great you were ready and able to catch this really cute interaction (even though the cub's mum didn't think it was cute based on your account). It's really priceless to catch a moment like this. If mine, and the IQ didn't suffer, I'd have cropped harder to focus more on the interaction and lose some of that background which does not work too well for me. But I know this was a grab shot as you say and still pretty nice in my books!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Steve, well timed for the ' right hook ' and even better for a grab shot. I feel the exposure on Mom and cub are spot on, and good detail on their coats. I like your vertical comp too.

Happy Easter to you and Alison.

[Stuart Philpott]

Steve top drawer for me absolutely cracking for a grab shot 'ere mate, how is it that one can spend hours with a subject and still end up rushing for an image,the good stuff is always where one isn't looking,ok it is for me anyway

I'd have to pull that bkg back which I'm sure you can, it's just too strong Steve.

I'm always going to be drawn to images like this mate,kids and mums, families beahviours interactions.So it's an instant fav for me. But that bkg feels really overpowering for me anyway,only nit Steve all else is beyond wonderful !!

happy easter

stu

[Steve Kaluski]

I feel the exposure on Mom and cub are spot on, and good detail on their coats.

Cheers Bud, hope you had a good one too.

I'd have to pull that bkg back which I'm sure you can, it's just too strong Steve.

Stu, all I can say is, you have to be there, if I reduce the BKG, A, it's not reflective of the time as a lot of folk say, B, you will loose the separation between the two. Now yes, I could tweak it, but I'm happy as presented, I will see what I can do next time.

[Steve Kaluski]

Stu P - a tweaked BKG, any more reduction and you start to affect colour and other elements within the BKG which I prefer to avoid.