Illuminated Royalty

Gallery: WildlifePosted November 4, 2013178 views11 comments

I've been posting more in the line of animalscapes in the past few posts, so here's a portrait!

A young male lion from Etosha in Namibia stares into the dying light of day. Pretty much full frame, slight crop.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/320 SS | ISO-500

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Basri Akcasoy on November 4, 2013 at 4:13 PM

Excellent pose, light and detail, TFS.

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

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on November 4, 2013 at 5:17 PM

Love that light. Awesome shot.

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

Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on November 4, 2013 at 6:55 PM

Markel: The photo is well-composed with a nice glow from the sinking sun. The only change that I might consider is to reduce the exposure a bit.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on November 5, 2013 at 12:36 AM

Morkel,
I agree with Randy on the brightness of this image, on my monitor it also appears slightly oversharpened.

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on November 5, 2013 at 2:22 AM

Thanks folks. Exposure and sharpness are fine on my monitor.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on November 6, 2013 at 8:33 AM

Hi Morkel,

I like the far-away look in this guy's eyes - makes me wonder what he's contemplating. I saw your comment immediately above, but have to say that my first thought on the image was not that it was over-exposed, but that it would be stronger with a reduction in exposure and a bump in contrast (to me the beauty of side-lighting like this is the strong contrast between the sunlit and shaded regions). But just my 2 cents worth...

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on November 7, 2013 at 12:37 AM

A fine portrait Morkel! I understand the call for a slight reduction in exposure and probably would have processed it a tad darker myself, but it is not 'necessary'.

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

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on November 7, 2013 at 7:32 PM

Handsome lion and a fine portrait. All looks great, although I think Brad might have a good idea to increase the contrast a little to add to the beauty.

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

Comment posted by Guy Runco on November 9, 2013 at 12:59 AM

Excellent subject in great light, what more can a wildlife photog ask for? Nice shot Morkel!

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on November 9, 2013 at 8:01 AM

Nice composition and light here Morkel. Spot on sharpness & detail, I'd just add a tweak of Lumin adj, that will pop things, likewise a hint of mid tone, expanding them is too much.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Mario Moreno on November 16, 2013 at 5:28 AM

Gorgeous light on this guy Morkel ! nice amount of detail too

Registered on January 24, 2012, 163 Posts, 369 Comments