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Thread: Lion Watching You - Rework

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    Default Lion Watching You - Rework

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    This images is a rework of a 2006 image made during my last Africa (Tanzania) trip. I always liked the concept of the Lion staring at us from the top of his hill. However the original had a pretty dark face due to the extreme back light and a very bright rock just under his face. If I exposed to not blow the rock or BG sky the face went even darker. So I chose to make the exposure at zero EV and try to see what I could do. In 2006 my PS skills were severely lacking so the image was never really satisfactory. Now, with the help of those here at BPN, I have reprocessed the image.

    The details are as follows: The light was very warm late afternoon Sunset lighting. 1DMK2 with 1.4 TC on beanbag on the top of Land Rover. Manual metering with ISO 200 and f 9 and 1/250. Cropped to vertical from horizontal, and cropped to about 50% of original. I kept the crop tight to try to emphasize the "stare". Shadow/highlight used entire image. Then a multiply layer used on the rock. The rock was further modified by using a quick mask to bring darker areas over the very, very bright areas to tone down the contrast as much as possible. The eyes were selectively lightened and the image sharpened in PK Sharpener.

    I know the bright highlight on the Lion's right mane is not perfect, but anything I did to this (late last night) looked too funky and not natural so I left it.

    OK - Let's have it! What do you think?

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Great stare from this guy. Makes me feel like I'm about to be his next meal. My opinion is this is too light (but I admittedly prefer darker pics) and too yellow/red. The sky and mane are very bright and almost overpower the lion's face. You could try cloning some of the highlites out of the mane and still keep it looking natural but the sky is what it is . The rock at the bottom is very bright as well and looks a bit artificial. Have you tried processing two versions of the image, one for highlites, one for shadows, then blending? B/W could be another option. Regardless, I think this would be nice with an oval type matte/frame to help eliminate the sky and rock a bit.
    Last edited by Steve Canuel; 07-14-2009 at 07:42 AM.

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    Lifetime Member Jay Gould's Avatar
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    I keep looking at the the "bright" lion, then Steve's - in my opinion - too dark lion, and wondering what the 2006 lion looked like.

    Ed, I really like the face and and the stare; I am having trouble with the mane - perhaps a bit too bright.

    Overall, I like it!
    Cheers, Jay

    My Digital Art - "Nature Interpreted" - can now be view at http://www.luvntravlnphotography.com

    "Nature Interpreted" - Photography begins with your mind and eyes, and ends with an image representing your vision and your reality of the captured scene; photography exceeds the camera sensor's limitations. Capturing and Processing landscapes and seascapes allows me to express my vision and reality of Nature.

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    Ed,
    I like the expression. Lovely stare. I agree about the highlight in the mane. You can try to reduce the colour temperature.

    Cheers,
    Sabyasachi

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    Thanks for all the input. Steve, I appreciate your work, but I think the face is too dark. It, in my mind, loses the impact being so dark. Jay and Sabyasachi, I also agree about the mane. I will try a color temp adjustment after work tonight and see what occurs. Thanks again.

  6. #6
    Fabs Forns
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    I will add the the sky can be tames with Viveza, taking away brightness, adding blue and reducing red as needed.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    great composition - pity the light was against you. with some more time spent lovingly nurturing this image it can turn out to be the image you desire it to be. I do like the backlight but find the face not exposed enough and a tad soft.
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Connie Mier
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    Ed, you can't ask for a better stare than that! I wished the log was not there, so I do like Peter's cropped version.
    Connie

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    Fabulous expression! love the intense look. I don't think the lion is too dark but the background ie sky is too light, I think if you lesson the contrast between sky and face it might improve the balance. I agree with others about white balance, the overall effect is slightly orange it might be worthwhile playing with that.
    A powerful stare and great image, thanks for sharing

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