This image intends to capture the lion lying in its natural environment.
The final image is stitched from over 20 sequential images at taken at 70 mm with a Canon RF 70-200 f2.8 at 1/100 sec, f7.1 and iso 160. All images were run through Topaz noise reduction. All the images were processed identically in Lightroom Classic with only global adjustments for the color profile and white balance. Then the images were stitched together in Lightroom. The final pano image was processed lightly to duplicate the actual setting as close as possible.
This photo was taken on August 26th in the early morning at the Duba Plains safari camp which is part of the Great Plains Concession in Botswana.
I have been looking at this image for about a year and still do not know whether the photo needs to be cropped tighter. Any suggestions are welcome.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 3 comments posted
Rizwan Choudhry
The image very well depicts the natural environment, soft illumination on this early morning shot enhances the overall mood, as there are no harsh shadows. Even though, the hues of purple and pink on the sky add to the mood, but I will crop some of the sky out from the image as there are no interesting clouds in the sky. The crop in your first original is good for me, for the sky. Posted: 07/17/2024 17:49:16
Karen Sharpe
Beautiful lighting and colors. I played with the pic cropping down to various sizes and feel that cutting the trees or the colors in the sky does bring focus to the lion but detracts from the serenity of the scene. The branches and dead wood add interesting elements and keeping the forest gives a better feel for the lion's home. Posted: 07/17/2024 20:01:54
Gloria Grandolini
Hi Richard, such a wonderful serene scene and the colors are gorgeous. You caught an amazing shot of the lion - so to my eyes I would like to get a closer crop with less sky. Maybe along the lines of original 2 but with less foreground - where we see the environment but also can enjoy a closer look of the lion. Posted: 07/23/2024 16:27:19
