Mapogo Grooming Session

[Morkel Erasmus]

Sticking with lions...this was from the morning after our foray with the cub that showed the attitude.

The "Mapogos" are a coalition of 6 humongous male lions in the Greater Kruger area, and they truly rule with iron paws. Many entire prides of lion have been utterly wiped out by them, and they have a reputation of being able to down a full-grown buffalo bull in under 15 minutes.

This is the eldest and leader of the coalition. It was an overcast morning with the drizzle just freshly stopped as we left the Leopard Hills reception area. Our tracker found their footprints immediately outside the camp in the road, and within a few minutes we came upon 3 of them lying in the road (probably to avoid the wet grass). He proceeded to groom himself before walking off into the bush.

This is basically full frame, cropped a little from the top and bottom. I think this perspective will give you a good idea as to how huge his paws and head are. I composed centrally to give him dominance, and placed his right eye on the intersection of thirds.

Converted to B&W with Nik Silver FX and loved the effect of this conversion. I will include a colour version especially for Harshad Barve

All comments and critique most welcome...

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR II @ 200mm
f2.8 @ 1/1250 SS @ ISO-3200
Focus distance: 6m

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

here is the colour version, as promised. I like both...but the B&W edges this one for me

 

[Harshad Barve]

Nice pose , compo works for me , techs looks spot on and color version looks good to me . Dont know the reasons but I like wildlife in colors
TFS

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Bhai - that's perfectly fine, I respect that
by now you should know that I will more often than not try and experiment with different processing techniques

 

[Bob Miller]

Hi Morkel....great pose ....I prefer the color version but I can see why you like the B&W

 

[Alfred Forns]

Will have to go with the color version here !!! B&W conversion can work but looks a little contrasty? Worked out a B&W conversion with a little color mixed in, not sure if it would be to anyone liking .. different !!!

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Bob & Al...

Al I converted my B&W version with Nik Silver FX and used one of the presets. I actually dabbled with what you did on the repost too, and I like that as well

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, I feel the B/W conversion is too harsh and has lost a lot of detail contained in the colour version. As Al said, it is also very contrasty too. Not sure about the crop, although widening the shot certainly in the depth might have included a lot of dangling bits, so probably best as you have it. The focus looks on the nose with the eyes not as pin sharp, might suggest swopping round next time, or perhaps giving the eyes another slight round of USM? Interesting scar on the hindquarters.

TFS
Steve

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for your comment Steve. I agree the focus was probably on the nose - this was my first outing with a 2.8 aperture lens and I was unaccustomed to the shallow DOF, at this time of morning in those conditions I opted for 2.8 to let in more light

I don't really see which detail you mean got lost in the B&W? To my eyes the B&W enhanced a lot of the fine detail. I know it's contrasty, but that is the look I went for.

 

[Stu Bowie]

Hey mate, that sure is one huge lion. I like the way you have cropped this, and all three versions have their own merits.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

• © Morkel Erasmus Photography

I don't really see which detail you mean got lost in the B&W? To my eyes the B&W enhanced a lot of the fine detail.

Hi Morkel, it appears that there is more detail, but IMHO it is down to being very contrasty and the blacks are giving definition, but in clumps. The detail around the face and in the mane is 'blocked/chocked' giving little clarity and depth. Actually, if you add say 80+ or -/0.3/0 to your image the eyes become clearer/sharper. You were correct in your thinking re aperture, I just feel it might just need another round of USM and a fraction in Highlights/shadows?

This is just a straight forward conversion doing the above & converting to Greyscale. As I have said before, you are the photographer and know what you want to achieve in look & feel of the final image.

All the best
Steve

 

[peter delaney]

Hi Morkel

delighted to see you enjoying and experimenting with Nik silver efex...
For me the issue is the choice of image you are choosing to convert to B&W, I have mentioned this to you before so apologies if I sound like a broken record..
Be more selective , look for strong elements within your image ,be it lines,textures,tonal range,contrast,light and shadow.... very few wildlife images will work if they do not have any of the fore mentioned elements...

Majority of young photographers seem to regard B&W as second choice, believing if its not a good colour image then it will work in B&W.
The truth is if its not a good image...then its not going to work in any medium... just delete it ,learn from the image were you went wrong ,and try again..you must be your own hardest critic..
the image itself, agree with steve regarding crop, and detail.. roads in images for me does not convey ''wilderness'' so i very rarely shoot an image with them in it.. i know that sometimes we have no choice as animals love them..
i quite like Als approach...
but for me if I am truly honest the image does not work for me..
sorry for being so blunt, but you know me well enough by now.. nothing personal, I am a big fan of your work..

peter

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Peter, I think you have raise some very good points here. My worry is that 'software' offers such an array of options we can get blinded & confused and the overal look & feel of the image can get lost and away from the photographer initial objectives. IMHO software should be used sparingly and with caution. What I might also say is, that in colour you can some very strong and distracting highlights, areas etc at times that you eye is drawn too. Therefore in B/W it might be less distracting for the viewer/reader and convey a more softer looking image, perhaps?

Steve

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

some interesting points raised here. Peter - I do value your input as you more often than not hit the nail on the head with your B&W shots, and for me it's still a learning curve (hence the reason for posting here and having this discussion in the first place).

I don't really view B&W as a "fall-back" option and am very intrigued by the medium itself, which is why I'm always trying to see which images work and which don't. For me this one works because I feel there is a good tonal range and textures, and the road IMO doesn't look like a road (no tyre tracks) and could be viewed as an open plain?

Steve I agree with you - sometimes I want to take the focus off the strong (and even pleasing) colours and focus on facial expression, detail and texture (as Peter noted).

It's great to learn from all the differing perspectives and wide range of experience on this forum...

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, experiment, it's the only way to learn, just remember...

'Use the software as a tool, not as a crutch'.- SJK

Look forward to more soon, I hope.

Steve

 

[Egil Droge]

nteresting scar on the hindquarters.

That's what I thought. Natural or research scar?

For a grooming shot I would've liked to see more tongue I think. But a very impressive male indeed, and I do like the composition very much. I think I like Alfred's version best.

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Egil - no idea what the source of the scar is, but these blokes fight with and kill a lot of other lions...

 

[Egil Droge]

It can be natural but I know that in Kruger they used to hotbrand and/or freeze-brand their lions with natural looking scars for identification purposes.

 

[David Fletcher]

Hi Morkel

delighted to see you enjoying and experimenting with Nik silver efex...
For me the issue is the choice of image you are choosing to convert to B&W, I have mentioned this to you before so apologies if I sound like a broken record..
Be more selective , look for strong elements within your image ,be it lines,textures,tonal range,contrast,light and shadow.... very few wildlife images will work if they do not have any of the fore mentioned elements...

Majority of young photographers seem to regard B&W as second choice, believing if its not a good colour image then it will work in B&W.
The truth is if its not a good image...then its not going to work in any medium... just delete it ,learn from the image were you went wrong ,and try again..you must be your own hardest critic..
the image itself, agree with steve regarding crop, and detail.. roads in images for me does not convey ''wilderness'' so i very rarely shoot an image with them in it.. i know that sometimes we have no choice as animals love them..
i quite like Als approach...
but for me if I am truly honest the image does not work for me..
sorry for being so blunt, but you know me well enough by now.. nothing personal, I am a big fan of your work..

peter

Peter says it so well Morkel. Love your energy and experimentation. But the image as mentioned needs your own appraisal before posting. Sort of shot that may be a good record of that "gang"... But artistically, with a road, going to be tough to present irrespective of the treatment. Happy as ever and always to share your views and bounce off perspectives, but with Peter on this... good stuff as always bud!

 

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Egil and Dave...