Young Gun

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 23, 2012211 views5 comments

Hey everyone,

This is a shot from earlier in the month - I was watching part of a pride of lions in the Timbavati. I tried to follow as one of the lionesses disappeared into the thick bush with the cubs. Some time later a young male emerged from another area and seemed to be going to join them. He too disappeared but the pride was gathering (the last time I saw them a few months back the pride totalled 15 lions). This young male emerged from the bush about 10 minutes later, but luckily since I had watched his brother, I had a fairly good idea of the route he might take. Ultimately, I was able to find a low perspective and wait for him to pass by, which he did

Thanks for any thoughts and suggestions...

D700
200-400 VRII

350mm
1/2500s
ISO 400
f6.3

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on February 23, 2012 at 6:58 AM

Love that stare James, and just look at the size of them front paws. I don't know the first thing about shooting wildlife but this looks great.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 25, 2012 at 8:48 AM

Hey James,

Nice shot...like lots about it, including the DoF (pretty much perfect!), the lighting (I'm a sucker for side-lighting), the upraised paw, the great eye contact, and more. Real strong image. Two inconsequential nits. First, I just find the crop a little too narrow for my personal taste (a subjective taste issue and simple to change if you chose to). Second...just an optical thing - on the right leg (left side of frame) - that shadow helps make that upraised paw look a little disproportionally large (like a massive club!) when one just glances at the image. Just an observation and definitely not suggesting you do anything about it...and doesn't take anything away from the shot.

Cheers...thanks for sharing this one - nice to look at!

Brad

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 26, 2012 at 1:56 PM

Great work in anticipating the route for the subject and getting the terrific perspective! I like it a lot. The thumbnail translates on screen as having a noticeable green tint which makes me think there is one in the larger versions, too, just less obvious. A slight tweak will tell you if you might enhance with reprocessing.

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

Comment posted by James Campbell on February 27, 2012 at 1:14 AM

Thanks for your feedback guys.. Brad, thanks for your thoughts on this one, always worth considering.. Lon, I seem to have many thumbnails that don't translate well - the larger versions seem OK, but I also immediately noticed the green - quite frustrating, but I am looking into it!

Registered on January 12, 2009, 48 Posts, 377 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on March 12, 2012 at 5:26 PM

killer perspective here James
seems like mid-morning light - well handled

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