Son of the Wilderness

[Gabriela Plesea]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON Z 9
• NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
• ƒ/3.5
• 400mm
• 1/2500s
• ISO 1800
• GABRIELA PLESEA
• Wed, 11 September 2024 8:06 AM
• COPYRIGHT GABRIELA PLESEA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2024
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5.1 (Macintosh)

Hello Everyone,

Sharing this image recently taken in Kruger Park and would like to have your thoughts. I quite liked the scene, colours and OOF vegetation and was taken with the regal pose from this relaxed male. It was overcast, quite windy and therefore extremely dusty... at the time I did not realise how much those conditions would affect this particular frame. Also had to focus through a number of branches which was quite frustrating, unable to move vehicle because we had a trailer in tow and quite a few vehicles around us, everyone trying to find out what we were seeing.

Does this work for you, dust and all? Image overall a tad hazy but nothing I can do to change that. Have other frames with this lion walking towards that spot without - or with less - haze, I just liked this more because of content.

Nikon Z9
Nikon 400mm F2.8 TC
Focal Length: 600mm
ISO 1800
F3.5
SS1/2500s
EV 0

Many thanks for viewing as well as comments on my previous images, they are much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Gabriela

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, great to see you finally having the time to post an image from the trip. 👌

I like the fact the subject is small in frame and the environment frames the subject, drawing the eye to the Lion. I can sympathise with the rock in the middle of the subject, very unfortunate, but that's life. f/3.5 bit odd perhaps f/4, but with the static subject I think you could have eased on the SS and so the ISO would then drop, not that 1800 is a big deal.

I'm wondering about perhaps less FG, cropping just above your signature and a little more 'contrast', but not contrast, just for a bit more ping, albeit (great word isn't it) you may feel it's OK as presented.

TFS
Steve

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you very much Steve,

The rock...he kicked it with his foot as he got up...think it was bugging him too...and if he did not look away you would have seen the image this evening😊

Looking now with fresh eyes I think I should go a tad brighter, especially on the subject. And thank you, now realise FG is too much, I will correct asap.

F3.5 just play, not worried about ISO at all. I almost never shoot at this aperture, was trying to see how much I can blur behind and around him, anyway he was quite far so not sure F4 would have made a big difference?

Busy going through this folder to see if I might have some better ones from this sighting, when I find I will share. Truly appreciate your time to view and critique as always

Warmest regards,
Gabriela

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Agree with your observations. Re f/3.5 and f/4 not really I just prefer the standard choices ie f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6...

The rock...he kicked it with his foot as he got up...think it was bugging him too

A pity he didn't kick it hard enough.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Agree with your observations. Re f/3.5 and f/4 not really I just prefer the standard choices ie f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6...



A pity he didn't kick it hard enough.

Well it's good sometimes to experiment...

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Gabriela it looks great - nothing beats a good lion image, colours look very good and when viewed full size I think the composition is just fine. The big appeal for me is the natural setting and all the colours, the pose is rather regal. The stones/rocks are incidental and do not bother me in the slightest - it's not a studio shot after all - its how it was. I don't think you would become obsessive over minor differences in aperture, the difference in f3.5 to f4 at that distance witha a subject that size would be minimal, I doubt if many people would see any difference at all.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Jon,

When I saw this lion I thought 'Jon would have loved to be here and photograph this'.
There were actually two males, the other looked a tad younger. They interacted at some stage, greeted each other the way lions do and then lied down together. So more images coming😊

 

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

• COPYRIGHT GABRIELA PLESEA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2024
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5.1 (Windows)

• COPYRIGHT GABRIELA PLESEA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2024
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5.1 (Windows)

I dropped your photo into LR and this is what I came up with. I couldn't help myself but to choose a closer crop. And as far as these two renditions goes Top is plus Vibrance and Saturation and the Bottom is minus Vibrance and Saturation.

Before you gasp too much at the upper image let me say that the 3 dimensionality gained by the contrast between the green background and the red accents of the lion is and the leaves is observable even in the thumbnails. I think this 3D aspect is observable just by looking at the two faces. I just have to chuckle when I look at the top version. It's all animated the Lion King. Then I look at the bottom one and I think Wow eye contact. I feel like I'm the one making eye contact and that's a very special feature of your photograph.

I should mention that the processing is one that I use a lot. I love the Dehaze (+35) and a little less the Clarity (+63) sliders in Light room. They require balancing by increasing exposure (+0.70). Next I increased highlights (+42) and decreased Whites (-75) It is a bit strange increase in contrast in the lighter portions of the image I would say mostly in the face and front legs but also into the mane. I just have the settings for the bottom one but I have Vibrance (-21) and Saturation(-5) toned down. In the top image I had them toned up to what I think is the breaking point. I can't decide what I think of the mane in the top image. It is so garish but it really pops that color contrast - super 3D. Even the rock is 3D in the top image. Crazy.

I honestly can't decide between the two. And imho the crop works better, The OP image has an interesting cave-like framing with the blur carrying the impression. But I want to see the lion not the blurred foliage.

Wow, that was fun. A wonderful image. I am absolutely in love with the eye contact. Congratulations!

Cheers.

 

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Oh and Gabriela how did you do that neat thing with the copyright notice. Very cool. I want that. ;-)

Cheers.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Michael! I finally get to reply to you...Sorry for the delay, had a heck of a day...

So here it goes...Regarding my signature...Someone special did that for me, I do not know how. Been using it for many years. I will try find out for you ☺️

Super happy to see you had fun with my image, I do not mind RP's and everyone is welcome to chip in with comments and critique of any kind.

On the closer crop: yes it can work of course, but I have taken (and posted) so many close-ups of lions in the past...so on this occasion I decided to go for a 'smaller in the frame' look, was trying to show the amazing environment in Kruger Park and especially those colourful mopani trees I am so fond of.

I too use Lightroom and PSCC for processing. Have a rather gentler approach, here I added some texture, clarity slider and dehaze I used sparingly, trying to avoid ending up with a crunchy image. Only a tad of saturation and vibrance. My workflow is extremely simple.

I personally feel your first RP is a tad oversaturated and the second one needs more colour. Maybe something in-between, Michael? Of course, I do see the 'eye contact' which grabbed you in the first place. It grabbed me too. This is the moment I was waiting for when the subject lied down, that one second he looked into my lens. Was a little upset when I got home and looked at the image, it lacked the clarity and sharpness I am used to and I can only attribute this to the conditions at the time (extremely windy and dusty). Have other images from this sighting which are way sharper but subject is looking away or his eyes are closed.

Shall post more over the next few weeks and I look forward to your feedback, thank you so much for your thoughts and I appreciate your every word as well as the RP's

Kind regards,
Gabriela

 

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

I've been away from processing for a few years now and things have changed so much. I've decided to toss my old workflow and adopt a mostly LR approach to see if it can dial down the effort for better results. I was in a mood last night so that's how the RPs went.

I was more looking at what seems to lie in the metadata for when I post here it puts the info under the frame. I'll have to work on my metadata.

One of the beefs I've had with BPN over the years is the tendency to assume one look is best when there is so much opportunity to explore alternative interpretations. I think the OP has a great look to it. the contrast between the blurred foliage and the sharp lion, red-green contrast, the lion's den feel to the framing and the slight dusting adds to the atmosphere imo rather than a defect.

South Africa is on my travel list. 2025 is filling up so maybe 2026. Do you have a season recommendation?

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Michael,

Hope you are in this mood every night! I enjoy your sincere comments and RP's (always good to see someone else's interpretation) and especially your enthusiasm. Happy you are back and processing again!
LR is awesome, do not think I could do without PSCC though, this is where I apply the final touches.
Mmm...seasons for Africa...Depends where you go, to some extent...December to March rather hot and humid. June to August and sometimes September it's dry, cold ( but not too cold...) and windy. I like April and May, also October. Let me know where you plan to go and I will give you as much feedback as I can.

Speak soon and I hope you have a wonderful day,

Kind regards,
Gabriela