Panthera leo portrait
Mar, 2016Views
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AVWilliams
April 17, 2016
Absolutely stunning image, beautiful textures on his face - and love the title - can't go wrong with a bit of latin :)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken during my presentation of a live broadcast safari drive in Sabi Sands, part of the Greater Kruger National Park in South Africa. Myself and my cameraman were sat meters away from a coalition of five male lions.Time
The 'golden hour' in Africa disappears very quickly, being replaced by bright some times harsh sunlight. This shot was taken after the magic hour but before the sun was too high in the skyLighting
.Equipment
This was shot using a Pentax K-3 with a Pentax 100-300mm lensInspiration
We had been tracking and watching a coalition of five young male lions for a few days. Even with a group of males there is always a dominant member and after watching them for a while, it became obvious who was the 'main man'. I wanted to capture a portrait of his unwavering confidence and raw power.Editing
I converted the image to black and white; increasing the contrast, clarity and adjusting the highlights and shadows in Lightroom; basically tinkering until I was pleased with the resultsIn my camera bag
I swapped systems recently, but when I took this shot, I had a Pentax K-3, Pentax 100-300mm, Sigma 120-400mm, and a few wide angle lensesFeedback
Patience is the key. Spend time studying and watching your subject. Of course being ready to capture a fleeting moment is also key, but I thoroughly enjoy trying to portray a characteristic of the subject, so having the patience and the time to spend with your subject is also important to me.
