melissahutchinson

Walks with Lions

May, 2014

Views

1468

Likes

+146

Awards

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Outstanding Creativity

+15

Absolute Masterpiece

+14

Superb Composition

+11

Top Choice

Peer Award

Superior Skill

All Star

Magnificent Capture

Jaw Dropping

Master Editing

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

Wow this is cute and beautiful , love it !!! :)

Thank you, Minediie!!

what a great pic

beautiful

Platinum

Fantastic image. This is fine art at its best!

Marvelous! Just love this one!................ a lot! . . . . . vin

You're work is absolutely breathtaking! Thank you for sharing your work. I can not wait to see more. :)

new fan, love,love your work

The peaceable kingdom????? I would not try this!

outstanding creativity and the flow of your work is very delicate and yet very strong! love your eye for colors and you use them well!

This has to be my favorite, beautiful tones lighting..perfect!

Perfection 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

See all

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at a local field up on a hillside by my house ...I was particularly drawn to the type of purple wildflowers (or weeds perhaps!) growing all around. I thought it would be the perfect backdrop for my subjects, the girl and lion. On a separate occasion, I photographed the lion while he was napping at the local zoo and I was lucky enough that in the 10 minutes I was photographing him (through mucky plexiglass at that!), that he then woke up for the last bit of his photoshoot!

Time

Evening on the hillside, midday for the lion

Lighting

The lighting was absolutely beautiful on the hillside as it was just beginning to descend into the golden hour. The lighting on the lion was slightly different, as it was a cloudy midday when I photographed him and as I mentioned, through scratched plexiglass. I had been hoping the enclosure was open, so when I found it wasn't, I wasn't even sure it would work in the end!

Equipment

Handheld Canon 1Ds Mark 3 and my old 50mm 1.4.

Inspiration

One of the ways I get inspired is through stories, whether they're my own or someone else's. This story was inspired by a time in my daughter's life when her strength and confidence was stripped. Always one to identify with lions since she was a little girl, I knew I had to create a concrete visualization of how I saw her, ...walking amongst the lions. She was the white lion (http://melissahutchinson.com/walks-with-lions.) Many amazing things have happened because of this image, which to me, is a testament to the power of strength through adversity.

Editing

This image was entirely dependent on my post-processing skills to materialize what I had created and envisioned in my head. I played with a few different images of the lion and chose this formation to adequately tell the story of the girl belonging to the pride. The greatest challenge and number one rule for me is whether a composited image looks believable~that's where my roots as a former sketch artist come in ~ shading is so essential. I have to keep coming back to an image like this, to study it from all angles and lights. :)

In my camera bag

It's my Canon 1Ds Mark 3, a 50 1.2mm lens, and a tripod. Tagging along depending on the shooting situation would be my 24-70mm 2.8 and less frequently, my 70-200mm 2.8. My Canon 5d II is used for video. Simplicity for me is key.

Feedback

My best advice to myself and to others is to go within to create something unique. Think about the story of your life, the stories of others. Shut the computer down for a while and get imprinted images out of your head. Get inspired by everything that is waiting right within your grasp~ your own unique experiences, objects or clothing or settings, things you love, people you love, themes you love. Pay attention to what is put into your path daily...that is flow. Run with it.

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melissahutchinson

melissahutchinson

Walks with Lions

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow melissahutchinson

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