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Good Morning
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Good Morning

by James Campbell

Gallery: WildlifePosted August 25, 2011122 views4 comments
I had benn waiting the longest time to find lions before sunrise - to have the opportunity to photograph in the earliest of light. On this occasion we were lucky enough to find them, but as the sun rose a huge cloud gathered on the horizon (the only cloud in sight)and blocked the early light. After about 20 minutes and gap opened and obligingly this youngster gave us a yawn - it was a good moment, but I still search for lions in that very first moment of light :smile:

This was one of a group of 4 youngsters, waiting on the rest of the pride to return. We had watched the pride hunt buffalo the previous evening - 15 in total, one white lion, amazing to experience lions at such high intensity - they were hungry! But unsuccesful on this attempt..

Timbavati, Nikon D700, Sigma 50-500mm @ 420mm, 1/2500s, f6.3, ISO 400, underexposed slightly.

Thanks for looking...

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 25, 2011 at 2:47 PM
Hi James, good to see you posting again! :wavey: Your story about 15 hungry lions on the hunt makes me wish I was there! Let me start by saying that I quite like this. It is not easy to make a compelling shot of a yawning lion, but you used the light fall to your advantage here.The contrasty scene created by the side-lighting combined with that great yawn with perfect view of the lion's dental set makes for an attractive looking image IMO. But count me as one who likes side-lighting and lions:smile: . Exposure and colour are perfectly handled IMO. The only small nit I see, but only on the smaller version and thus it is not really a nit, is over-sharpening of the shadow region on the lion. Thanks for sharing this and I hope to see more of your recent work here soon.
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by Phil Ellard on August 25, 2011 at 3:06 PM
A very striking image, you should be pleased, hope your search goes well :toast: :toast:
Registered on December 17, 2010, 60 Posts, 634 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 26, 2011 at 2:16 PM
You took good advantage of unusual lighting angles to capture a look not commonly seen.
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 27, 2011 at 4:38 PM
I really like the side light and the rim light it is creating in this image James. Also like how the teeth are lit up.
Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments