Like Peter, I also see a "thick halo" between tree edges and sky. It is not a typical "sharpening edge" in that it is a gradient, about 15-20 pixels wide.
Tom
I know this will totally eliminate the l-bolt, but I browser cropped this into a really tight pano and liked the look. The strong gaze of the two lions and the good DOF surrounding them makes this work better IMO. L-bolt aside, I am finding the moderately sharp BG distracting from the tru center of interest of this image.
Ken - it's those pesky blues again . What cause and solution have you come up with? Btw like the pose and pov and the bolt raises this image up a notch IMHO.
I can see what you mean, but as you say I would lose the lightening strike and to my mind the purpose of the image.
Rachel,
Yes inded "pesky blues", I think it was caused by a plug-in I was using, but judging by the comments on my recent Fish Eagle posting, this may not be the case.
For me, the "problem" with the lightning strike is that there is nothing else in the image to suggest why it should be there. That is, the sky looks blue with no other hint of clouds nor rain.
Tom
Thanks, the original has a wonderful feel and the lightning appears natural.
I do notice something in the original/raw you posted, the distance between the wood stump and the left Lioness is more than it is in your initial post. Also, strangely, the number of trees in the background does not match with the original. Did you cut/merge the left side to bring the lightning closer to the animals ? That would explain the halo and blurry area people are talking about.
Great timing here Ken! I like it with the lighting bolt, quite unique...
I find it strange but the "out-of-camera" shot has a lot more clarity and apparently higher IQ than your OP??
Maybe you pushed saturation a bit and added some blur to the BG?