Scarred Lion
Madikwe Game Reserve, 21 August 2010, 10h23
Nikon D300, Nikon 80-200 @ 200mm, 1/3200, f/5, ISO 320, -2/3 EV
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No matter how many times you see it, a male lion in the wild is truly a spectacular sight.
From a photography point of view, a large male lion also ranks right up there with the most sought after subjects on safari.
The size. The attitutude. Magnificent.
Even though I have thousands of lion portraits I just cannot resist the big cats. The slight tilt of the head and the eyes staring to the side make for a classic close up portrait. What is he looking at?
It was already quite late in the day so for this image I decided to underexpose in order not too loose the details in the highlights on the lion’s face and give it the image a slightly more dramatic feel.
I didn’t quite see this image as monochrome when I clicked the shutter but when I opened it in Lightroom I changed my mind. The color version definitely worked but after staring at both a color and black & white version I felt that monochrome was the way to go! The cat’s dark mane balances the light from the right of the frame perfectly and I added a slight brown tone for a more vintage feel.
Big cats. Gotta love em!
See ya tomorrow.
Gerry
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