Lions at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Morning, backlit.
I don't really think that these animals are wild or natural, but I wouldn't want to be inside with them.
Comments & critiques welcome.
I think that #1 may have been overprocessed. This was inspired by Steven Rood's animal portraits.
#1 taken with a Canon 20D and Canon 300f4is, no filter, 1/1,000 sec, f4
#2 taken with a Canon 40D and Canon 300f4is, no filter, 1/500 sec, f4
#3 taken with a Canon 40D and Canon 300f4is, no filter, 1/400 sec, f4
I love # 2 & 3, but something feel "off" with # 1 - - something about the mane, his face is stunning, but - - I don't know how to put it. Something just feels "off"
Lil Judd, I know what you mean.
I think it's the high contrast of the light hairs of the mane right of the face.
That's just the way the contrast came out after converting to b&w in Photoshop.
I think I'll try to reduce the contrast on the light parts.
The overall feel needs to be softened a bit.
#1 and #2 are tops! Don't have any real issues with the mane - looks a bit lithographic, I think.
All lions in 1 and 2 seem to be thoughtful; to me, they have very emotional facial expressions. The big male is clearly letting his mind wander, and get a load of the body language of the female. I think you managed to capture personalities here. Good work!
I'm sticking with #1 and I think it is just grrrrrrrrrreat! I love the mood that it evokes as well as the tonal qualities. If there were just a wee bit more eye contact it would be spectacular. I also like #2 just fine and would love to see #3 the same way. A very nice way of presentation IMO
Number 1 is number 1, to say it in Tim's words,
But this accounts also for number 2 and number 3!
Excellent work!
nb, I don't think there is something like a domestic lion, these animals are wild and stay wild, never forget that! (well, my cat might be a domestic lion, come to think of it )
I shoot everything in RAW with a small JPEG.
I use the RAW (color) file for anything I want to adjust. I use the JPEGs mostly for emailing and web.
All my post work is done in Photoshop CS3.
I've recently changed my b&w conversion process by using the excellent black & white adjustment layer. It's a huge time saver over my older methods. Then I apply the sepia with a hue/saturation adjustment.
I'm not a photographer by trade, I'm a graphic designer - so I use the standard design tools.
Do you prefer the original or the new variations of #1?
Just wondering since you have the same "issue" with the mane that I do.
I think I might have to print it large to see if one is better than the others.
So dramatic.