His Majesty looks back

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This tiger had finished drinking for a small stream and was moving ahead. I was hoping that he will come out of the game trail at the spot where there was a strand of early morning light. He paused at that spot with only his head lit by the morning light and looked back. I wanted an image with its entire body and lots of space, so I positioned my vehicle accordingly.

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon Ef 400mm f2.8 L IS USM, ISO 200, F4, 1/320 sec, bean bag, full frame. Converted from RAW using Lightroom. No tweaking at all. It will give an idea about the morning scene. I felt a slight increase in contrast to this scene will work as well.

Look forward to your comments.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Stu Bowie]

Ive seen the wilds cats of africa, but would love the opportunity to capture an image of a tiger as you have here. What a magnificent looking species. Great positioning to have early morning light cast on his head, and you have exposed the colours nicely. Congrats on an outstanding image.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Great work mate!

Lovely sight and exposure, I only wish for more saturation but that's just a matter of preferences.

[Marc Mol]

Nice composition Saby.
As you said, a touch more contrast would be nice with some increase in saturation may also benefit.

Cheers
Marc

[Ed Cordes]

The spot light effect on the face is just outstanding! Inclusion of the environment is just right. Only small suggestion I would have is to increase the saturation a bit.

[Howard Burkert]

What a beautiful tiger, and nice use of his enviorment. The lighting effect is great.
Best,
Howard.

[Steve Canuel]

Excellent pose and great work/timing on catching him in the spotlight. BG is smoothed out nicely yet still provides a good idea about the habitat. The featureless patch of road in the LR is a little distracting but not so much to ruin this image.

[Ken Watkins]

The only nit I can see is the expanse of road, but given that you have to be on the oad to get the image, then I do not mind. Your images of Tigers make me deeply envious.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

The only nit I can see is the expanse of road, but given that you have to be on the oad to get the image, then I do not mind. Your images of Tigers make me deeply envious.

Thanks Ken for your compliments. I too love your images from Africa. I remember the lion mating image in lovely light. In India, it is difficult to get tiger mating shots as they are generally done in the privacy of dense bushes. :D This time I got a few images of tiger mating, but the angle is not right. Will post that later.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ken Watkins]

Sabyasachi,

Tigers are far more discrete that Lions, in most ways. They are also far more beautiful!!

[Fabs Forns]

Sabyasachi, I would print this very big and in canvas, it has the perfect painterly look for that.
Spotlight at the precise place and moment.