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Oct. 2013 GOTM

Gallery: Gallery of the MonthPosted August 25, 20131,042 views22 comments

On Patrol

A strong Kalahari lion patrols his territory at dawn, scent-marking and being awesome. I love working with monochrome wildlife images, so I hope you enjoy seeing the fruits of my labour!

PS: Brad, if you ask nicely I'll post the colour version in the comments as well

Taken in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. This lion was literally straddling the South Africa / Botswana border :D.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
1.4x teleconverter
f5.6 | 1/500 SS | ISO-250

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on August 25, 2013 at 4:26 PM

Absolutely gorgeous image, Morkel! Beautiful comp. I love the monochrome!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Clinch on August 25, 2013 at 4:30 PM

Masterful, monochrome fits the image very well! I especially like the pose as he were caught in a moment of reflection. Not sure what is in the air near his nose?

Registered on January 5, 2013, 37 Posts, 261 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on August 25, 2013 at 4:45 PM

Thanks guys.

Brad - think it's a fly, should have "zapped" it

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on August 25, 2013 at 6:55 PM

I think it's kinda funny how he's staring down the fly. They're seemingly ubiquitous around lions, so it's appropriate.

Nice treatment, Morkel. It worked out well to have him silhouetted against the light patch of sky.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on August 25, 2013 at 7:46 PM

Just stunning. The smoothness of the sky, the detail in the lion, the slight head turn and the tones are so dramatic.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on August 25, 2013 at 8:14 PM

You really captured that inherent "awesomeness" in this one Morkel. Black and white looks great for this image. Just curious, did you shoot it this way in-camera (I read that you have the color version too, but wondering if you shot it both ways?) or use software to convert? It is a very nice example of b/w either way.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on August 25, 2013 at 10:18 PM

Amazing capture, Morkel. This is one powerful guy. I can't get over how muscular his front legs are. Simple gorgeous. Maybe you could bless us with the color version.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on August 26, 2013 at 12:17 AM

What a powerful animal. Amazing. The small version doesn't really prepare your for the detail and power in the large version. Stunning. I don't think anyone will be asking him for his passport!

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 26, 2013 at 12:25 AM

Stunning muscle and fur detail. The monochrome is exquisite here. Very powerful image.

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 26, 2013 at 2:38 PM

A very nice looking B&W conversion you pulled off here Morkel. Personally I am not sure if this particular image is worth it though; body pose is not ideal IMO and I miss a glint in the eye here. But it is the B&W treatment that does make me look twice.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 26, 2013 at 3:16 PM

A very powerful image Morkel

The lions face is awesome.

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on August 26, 2013 at 4:28 PM

A powerful image, but I would like to see the color version. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on August 27, 2013 at 12:43 AM

Magical working of b&w!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on August 27, 2013 at 12:44 AM

Thanks for your kind words, everyone.
Vincent - I do take cognisance of your comment, and I actually have plenty where he was facing my way, but to me this pose was more dynamic, showing off his muscles and the curves of his body.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on August 27, 2013 at 12:56 AM

Colour version, minimally processed....

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Basri Akcasoy on August 27, 2013 at 7:52 AM

Very impressive, excellent comp. This is a very good example to me to learn how Monochrome adds additional value. TFS.

Registered on February 16, 2012, 118 Posts, 767 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 29, 2013 at 5:50 PM

I think this is excellent processing on the lion and I find the b&w to be par with color in presentation. I feel, however, that in the B&W version the sky and corners feel a little artificially dark and i would tone that back just a touch. I love the unusual perspective for a lion capture!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on October 16, 2013 at 9:55 PM

In this case I prefer the color version to the B&W. The plants and the sky just do not look right to me in the B&W version.
Thanks for sharing both versions.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on October 17, 2013 at 2:29 AM

Thanks for your comments, folks, and to Jim for picking me as GOTM for October

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Oates on October 30, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Wonderful, great work!

Registered on February 23, 2013, 46 Posts, 83 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on November 5, 2013 at 9:34 PM

Stunning image - the monochrome is perfect, although I'd like to see the colour version too.
Excellent detail and pose from this "King".
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on December 28, 2013 at 10:07 AM

Hello Morkel

Congrats on GOTM.

I enjoy this bw conversion , powerful and very interesting.

Thnanks for sharing

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments