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Questions to guide your feedback
Is their behavior obvious?
Other Information
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Image Description
Early morning finds two young male lions stopping at a watering hole for a drink. One drinks while the other keeps vigilant watch.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 1N; Canon EF 70-200mm @ 200mm Fujifilm Velvia 100; handheld; scanned with Nikon Super Coolscan 5000
Specific Feedback
I am aware that the drinking lion’s face is hidden, but I think the other’s face is clear and sharp. Whatever else you may find to comment on, positive or otherwise is OK.
Bob, I think that your title tells us something, and then you are able to see that maybe they are wary of something.
Drinking at a waterhole can be a risky situation for all animals. Was there some kind of jeopardy here?
Thank you @Ryan_H for your comments and observations. Yes, all animals, including humans, look up periodically when eating or drinking, to assess the safety of their immediate surroundings. The perceived threat, in this instance, was a second vehicle, filled with noisy tourists, a few tens of yards ahead of the one I was in.
I am attaching an image made just before the posted image, before the brother and the second vehicle arrived on the scene. You can see the cat’s tongue lapping so he wasn’t too stressed.
Bob, what a significant moment for two bachelor males looking out for each other. The suggested action is evident to me. The crop seems tight, but I don’t know what the remainder of the shot included that made that the desired crop. It might help if the background were darkened.
Thank you @Barbara_Djordjevic for your comments and suggestions. Wildlife action in Africa’s Botswana, on the Okavango River Delta, can be furiously fast, especially when the predators are active between sunset and sunrise. Photographers are not allowed to be out between those times.
These lions were preparing to go sleep. Capturing them meant shooting quickly before they left the area. Unsophisticated photographers like myself don’t always do some very basic things like judging the proximity of the subject to the frame edge. We’re just thrilled to “get a shot.”
When I shared this image with Charlie Cramer he said “What are those animals?” When I responded they were lions he then said “They blend into the surroundings too much.” He suggested I blur and lighten the surrounds. My thoughts were that blending in is what helps them approach their prey, but I didn’t say that to Charlie. Your suggestion to darken the surroundings is conceptually the same except in the opposite direction in tonality.
I have pictures of lions drinking on the Delta. It is a beautiful place to visit. The shot of the lone lion doesn’t feel as crowded. If you don’t have any more background in the frame of the two, you might be able to add more at the top by extending it with content-aware fill. I have done that on occasion with considerable success.
Hi, Bob. I like this scenario and you chose a great name - it fits the scene well as the rear lion appears to be the lookout at the moment you froze. Male lions are so spectacular - I never tire of seeing them. I’ve been editing pics from Kenya earlier this year and it was extremely GREEN there so I’m envious that you have such chill background colors to work with. Both lions actually read a tiny bit green to me (could be the screen or lighting or my eyes!), and I’d be tempted to warm just the subjects a tiny bit (more toward the color of the rear lion’s mane). , Nice illustration of these magnificent creatures and their behavior!
Thank you @cindy3 for your kind remarks and observations. My visit to Africa was in the southern hemisphere’s winter, in contrast to when you seem to have been there in the southern hemisphere’s summer. That will help to explain the difference in colors of the vegetation. You may be correct about a slight green color cast. I will explain how that may be and how I will test for it.
The film I was using on that trip, Velvia, has a strong green/blue color cast. I work in a color managed environment, including the display of my computer as well as external color. I live on the edge of a forest so I have blackout curtains covering my windows to eliminate the green from flooding my studio. My display is profiled and calibrated every other week to make sure that what I see is as accurate as possible. I opened the file in Photoshop, took a color sample from the shadow area on the right back forepaw of the back lion. The individual R G B densities were within one point of each other, at the center of the densities, yielding nearly pure grey.
I have had my color recognition and memory tested. My color acuity is i the 98th percentile. I am confident that the color rendition of the images I produce and post are accurate.
