Queen of the hill

Gallery: WildlifePosted June 29, 2011139 views12 comments

This image is from one of the most memorable moments of my most recent trip. We were eagerly looking for sunrise opportunities at an elephant carcass we spotted the day before and as we decided to move on an try our luck elsewhere a lioness came jogging straight past us. Probably disturbed by our vehicle, a small cub that was trailing her decided to duck into the bushes. We tried to look for the cub. Big mistake, we should have followed the lioness who was on her way to the carcass. We couldn't see the cub and then realised that perhaps the lioness would offer the sunset opp we had been looking for. As we moved in that direction we saw her standing on top of the carcass, calling for her cub. She gave us just enough time to snap a shot before she leaped off to go and look for her cub. A bit more time would have allowed us to got into a better position and adjust settings to get a more perfect shot, but still I am grateful we even got an opportunity at all.
The strange thing is that the rest off pride was following as well, but after reuniting they never went back to the carcass, something the vultures didn't mind at all.

Lioness ([i]Panthera leo[i])
Savute, Chobe NP, Botswana
Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Shutter Speed 1/2000 Sec.
Aperture Value f/10
ISO Speed 1250
EV -1.33
Lens EF500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4x TC
Crop app 90% of original

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Verdon on June 29, 2011 at 2:50 PM

did you heard that,, just dropped my jaw..........a-mazing, congrats!!!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Anand Narayanan on June 30, 2011 at 12:26 AM

A sight to behold ! I am so envious of your experience. On first look, I was a little unsure of what was going on but the larger image reveals it ! A high impact image that stirs a lot of emotion.
Just curious, did you prefocus on the carcass and wait ? Am asking this because i have a lot of trouble focussing at twilight and could use some hints.
One more thing, i dont like the grey frame

but thats a completely personal preference..

Registered on October 25, 2009, 110 Posts, 835 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on June 30, 2011 at 12:46 AM

Anand, I agree with you that focusing at twilight and into the sun can be tricky. In this case I had no time to prefocus as the lioness was already on the carcass and I had to act quickly; this time the camera focussed and I think I used the most contrasting part of her to focus on, the outlined butt. If I have more time to focus in such situations I use Live View and MF to set the focus.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on June 30, 2011 at 6:35 AM

I enjoyed the narrative Vincent, feels like I went on a "Virtual" safari with ya'll

May not be "perfect" as you say, but it most definitely has a special magic that's undeniable.
One has to see it large to appreciate the full impact..
Well done!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on June 30, 2011 at 8:15 AM

Great sighting Vincent! Why couldn't this have happened during my visit in May

The larger file really is worth a look as the small one doesn't show the nuanced detail. How does it look with a slight adjustment in brightness upfront?

Exposure overall is very well controlled here

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

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on June 30, 2011 at 1:39 PM

Hi Morkel, thanks for the comment. You know that one needs some luck in wildlife photography when it comes to sightings

. Of course being able to anticipate potential sightings does help, like hanging out around a carcass. I tried brightening up the dark areas, but to me it made the rim-lit effect less strong, which IMO is the key element in the image.

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on June 30, 2011 at 1:51 PM

Nice, Vincent, with just enough light on the end of the nose to make the rim lighting work. Congrats on the capture.

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

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 30, 2011 at 4:18 PM

A very striking image that really draws you into the frame to see what the lioness is doing, interesting to read about your adventure and nice job getting this unique image, the larger version looks great, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on July 1, 2011 at 8:59 AM

You may have been able to get an even better shot if the Lion had chosen to hang around a bit longer, but this is already a truly spectacular image Vincent, and I suspect anyone who'd come back from a safari with anything close to this would be beaming with pride, very well done, I love it :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Johan Malmros on July 2, 2011 at 7:54 AM

Beautiful Vincent - That one came out pretty well, didn't it?
I am glad of that brief moment, whish it would have lasted a bit longer though, to give some time for a bit more work on the shots. Good work with focus and avoiding of flare.

Registered on January 6, 2011, 20 Posts, 154 Comments

Comment posted by Harshad Barve on July 4, 2011 at 3:45 AM

Rocking image , I liked it most as posted

Registered on July 25, 2010, 39 Posts, 210 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on August 8, 2011 at 1:54 AM

Very much like this silhouette Vincent and thanks for the narrative that has my imagination running wild!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments