She's all mine!

[Hilary Hann]

I responded today to a post in the general forum made by Chas Glatzer on taking 4 different views of the one subject and I often wished I did that more. It reminded me though, that on this occasion I did just that, getting a wide view, vertical, horizontal and close up. For this thread I've chosen the wide, environmental view as I thought it showed a rather tender side of the lion courtship. It isn't just about the lions but the whole beautiful wilderness they inhabit.
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy; 6.10pm; 5Dmk2; 24-105 @ 60mm; ISO400; 1/80; f4 Manual exposure, bean bag.

[Harshad Barve]

He sure wants to say so Hilary , nice wild-scape , Sorry , not being harsh but this does not work me ,
I know you like to have explanation why it does not work ,So here I go

Both lion and lioness are not posing any and sleeping lions don't work for me and at F4 wild-scape don't have much to offer

TFS

[Hilary Hann]

No problem Harshad. Not everyone will like what someone else produces. For me, I liked that the lions weren't posing so I guess this is an image for me and that's ok as well.

[Ken Watkins]

Hilary,

Sorry to say I agree with Harshad here, but I am sure many will like it.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Ken. I probably fell into the same trap I've done before. The vista takes me straight to the place so is filled with stuff that others don't see.

[Ken Watkins]

Thanks Ken. I probably fell into the same trap I've done before. The vista takes me straight to the place so is filled with stuff that others don't see.

A bit cryptic for me I am afraid

[Grant Atkinson]

Hi Hilary, this is a gentle scene for me, and the paw on the shoulder has an intimate quality to it. Nice textures in the foreground to go with the lions, that are good and sharp for 1/80s. I also like the far-off line of hills, but wonder if a bit more work on the clouds and colour in the sky and background might make it stronger
Thanks for sharing
grant

[Rachel Hollander]

Hilary - I like the colors but think Grant's suggestions are good. For me, the tender touch makes this image, without it they're just flat cats. I posted something similar but with a single male sleeping at sunset in ETL a while back and it seems that people either love these type of shots or hate them. I like them and enjoy your experimentation.

TFS,
Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Grant and Rachel.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hilary - sorry seem to have missed this.
In general I prefer "animalscapes" that have almost infinite DOF, but here I quite like your focal treatment! it does focus the attention squarely on the intimate moment (I'm sure if the foot wasn't on missus and she wasn't yawning you wouldn't even have considered posting this )...while the slightly OOF surroundings gives it oodles of context.

I like!

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Morkel, without the proprietary paw and the rather bored yawn it wouldn't have seen the light of day. I appreciate the comments, thank you.

[Dumay de Boulle]

I love it...thts all I have to add

[Asta Tobiassen]

What I love about this is how relaxed they are in this wide open space. Really speaks to their lofty position in this unforgiving environment.

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Dumay and Asta.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary, as you have said many times, sometimes you need to revisit an image several times and I flnd this is one of them. I can understand where you are coming from about seeing something in a viewfinder at the time, but it may not always be visible to the viewer if that sounds right, as it is a 'personal' moment. For me I tend to see/view it as a landscape, where the lions are almost non existent, but the scene conveys a tranquility about it which I like. The colours look faithful based on the lions, slightly muted, but wonder if it needs a tweak, a sparkle just to lift it, WDYT?

Might be worth asking/posting in Landscapes or indeed Robert as he covers both for his thoughts?

TFS
Steve

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve, good idea. I'll wander over to Robert, Dave and Roman and see what suggestions they make.