LION LOOKING UP
Oct, 2018Views
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Awards
Winner in Male Lions Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Outstanding Creativity
Emotions
Impressed
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Behind The Lens
Location
This lion shot was taken at the World Wildlife Zoo in Glendale Arizona. The lion was just laying by himself and gazing around. I took a number of different poses as he looked in different directions. But this one caught my eye and I love the expression he had - as well as the direction of the gaze. Something had caught his attention!Time
I had been at the zoo for several hours taking pictures of many other animals. When I came to the lion enclosure at 2 PM I saw that the best angle was on the other side and that side would also make the sun behind me. After going to the other side I found the lion lit up very well while the foliage behind him was quite dark even with the sun on it.Lighting
I was lucky to have a pretty good contrast between the lion's head and the background right out of the camera. But I wanted an even darker background, so I used Photoshop to darken it even more to get the solid black in the image.Equipment
I really wanted to highlight his head because it was the expression that was going to make the image special. He was quite far away so to get a good close up I zoomed my Sigma 150 - 500 mm lens out all the way. I checked the ISO on my Canon 7D, set it to aperture priority and set the aperture to F8. I then looked at the shutter speed the camera set to ensure it was fast enough to do a hand held shot without any motion blur. I was set. I just had to click at the right moments!Inspiration
I love nature and love capturing the best it gives us. I started out doing wildlife photography during my hikes through the mountains. Then I started going to zoos just to hone my shooting technique and to practice in order to get my set up speed faster as animals in the wild don't often give you time to set up. But then by going to zoos I started to see so much more about the animals I was trying to photograph and started to home in on each animals special features to really get more interesting shots. This lion shot is an example of that.Editing
As I said earlier, the only real post processing I did was to darken the background even more than it already was. I have found that is pretty easy in Photoshop CC. Also since I shoot in RAW which does not give a good color rendering I did have to bring out the color in the lion's head. I always work on color and contrast as part of my regular workflow to compensate for the RAW format issues.In my camera bag
I carry different equipment depending on the type of shots I am trying to get or likely to run across. I always take 2 Canon 7Ds - one for backup. I learned the need for this on a trip to Alaska to shoot bears in their natural state. I had just one Canon 5D at the time and the shutter stopped working halfway through the trip. I felt terrible. But, I was lucky.The friend I was on the trip with had a spare Canon 5D. What a relief! For wildlife I have the Sigma 150-500 mounted on the camera as animals are usually not that close. I also have my Canon 15-85 wide angel in my bag mounted on my other body in case I see a spectacular landscape.Feedback
My best advice on taking zoo shots is to go often and stay as long as you can. Get to know your zoo - all the interesting animals and the angles and times of day to be at each enclosure. Learn how to shoot through fences by using a shallow depth of field aperture. Really understand the relationships among aperture, shutter speed and ISO and practice getting these settings correct for the different conditions you will encounter. Take time to observe each animal to learn what they do and how they look in various light. And most of all relax and enjoy yourself!
