Down she goes

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 8, 2015206 views7 comments

We waited patiently for over an hour for this lioness to descend her tree in the Mara Triangle during the photo safari I hosted in September last year. It was a tough call on where to position the vehicle, as this spot we chose would have the best outline of her against the trunk, but a spot further around our left would have a pleasing "mountain" backdrop instead of bright sky (this shot is facing west with the sun setting behind an overcast sky). The "B" position however, would have her descending away from our shooting plane. We chose this one. Well, each of our 4 vehicles chose a different spot so at least people on our safari got different perspectives on this.

I processed this quite quickly and would like to spend more time on it. With the sky high key something in me wants it monochrome, however I like the colours that did come through.

Your thoughts are most welcome. Pretty much full frame as posted - we had a lot of time to pick our "static comp" for the comedown sequence .

Techs:
Nikon D4s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/640 SS | ISO-3200
Worth clicking on the larger file!

PS: This lioness is a legend. We found her in trees twice on this safari and twice last year as well. Granted she always picks them slanted like this, but a lion in a tree is a lion in a tree!

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on March 9, 2015 at 12:43 AM

I was surprised to see a lion when I opened the full image. I like this quite a bit, Morkel. Would've obviously been nice to get more separation between the lion and the horizon, but I think you did well with what she gave you. The extreme lean of the tree and the pattern created by the background trees on the horizon are nice touches. I think monochrome is certainly worth a shot!

Max

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 10, 2015 at 10:32 AM

Morkel, when I first glanced at the thumbnail, I thought "Wow, great silhouette!" and I was slightly disappointed when viewing the larger editions to see it was not a silhouette. Perhaps is you process this darkening the foreground, you would have a touch of color and texture in the bright sky? Or, as Max suggested, experiment with monochrome. All that said, this is an example of a fine set-up and great timing on the shutter finger, resulting in a good capture.

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

Comment posted by Brad Hill on March 12, 2015 at 8:59 AM

Hi Morkel,

Appealing shot. I hope that while you waited for this you were uncomfortable and being eaten by insects (rather than having a leisurely hot drink) - we photographers do have a reputation of enduring inhospitable and unimaginable conditions that we MUST defend!

I actually like the colour version of this - subtle pastels to engage the eye (with a closer look). I agree with Max on his comment about how nice it would have been to have separation of the lion from the distant background (but the image is appealing as posted). In terms of monochrome - hmmm...I think if you go that route you'd find the most success if you push the contrast a lot and end up with a strong silhouette focusing on graphic appeal - as posted the image seems a tad shy on tonal range for B&W conversion...

Cheers...

Brad

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

Comment posted by Sandipan Dutta on March 12, 2015 at 10:53 AM

I like the graphical feel of this image and unique shape of the tree. You have captured a very interesting behavior.....worth waiting for a moment like this.

Registered on March 9, 2009, 171 Posts, 493 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on March 16, 2015 at 4:49 AM

It's been interesting to me to read the comments on this one, Morkel, as it once again demonstrates that beauty is so often in the eye of the beholder, as they say. For me, THIS IS FREAKING AMAZING!!

I literally love pretty much everything about this image as shot and presented. I would have immediately wondered about B&W as well, but something tells me this is the right decision (still, almost definitely worth seeing what you end up with on a conversion!). I for one like the fact this is not a pure silhouette, in part because it makes it unmistakable that it's a lionness descending the tree and not another species. The pose (shape and form of the lioness' body in stride) is wonderful, as is her positioning both on the tree and within the overall frame. Honestly, I've looked at this more than a dozen times and simply love it. Outstanding graphical balance. Great work all around.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on March 26, 2015 at 3:41 PM

Very nice shot. Great timing. Personally I like to see the details in the strong, lean body of that lioness, so I'm personally happy it's not a silhouette. She looks quite skinny, was she last year as well?

Grt, Ingrid.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 3, 2015 at 1:27 PM

Thanks for the great feedback and the WP

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