Mike Cohen
October 2025 - Lion Drinking
Original
About the Image(s)
I am curious as to what you think of this image. To my eye, the water was too bright and the lion too dark. I used a few different techniques to lighten up and bring some of the details of the lion out. Does it look fake to you? I selected the water and reduced the luminance and added a touch of blue. NIK was used to bring out more detail in the lions face. I removed a few minor distractions and did some dodging and burning attempting to draw the viewer’s attention to the lion’s face. Sony a1M2, 200-600 lens @ 329mm, 1/800 second, f/6.3, ISO 640. Taken in Zambia last July.
8 comments posted
Another stunning backlit creature. The stubble in the water and ground pulls my attention from the magnificent lion. I find the sky and water still too bright. Because the lion is so beautifully outlined by the glowing light, I would try to mask and drastically darken the background, sky and all but an area of the water around the tongue. I think the result could be very dramatic. Posted: 10/05/2025 21:49:42
(Group 4)
Just beautiful, I appreciate that you got a tongue out image. A golden light for a king. To me your processing gives me an early morning feel, I like your processing and to me looks natural. Posted: 10/07/2025 03:10:45
what a beautiful backlit image...my eye goes straight to the Lion's mane and don't find the background too bright. You have done a great job with post. Coveys as Vella say an aura of early morning. The position of the lion is strong as he sips and you can feel his thirst. Very nice. Posted: 10/10/2025 16:26:58
To me the image is very contrasty...tough light to deal with. I think you have done a good job in post considering the conditions you are dealing with. I can't make up my mind whether I want to see the lion brightened a bit to reveal more texture and detail, or darkened to create a silhouette (although the latter might not work because the vegetation is so dark). Have you tried the new making in LR that would allow you to create separate masks for the water and the vegetation? Posted: 10/11/2025 16:21:18
Thanks Sharon. I probably used LR's masking which is very useful. Good comments from everyone. Posted: 10/23/2025 21:52:11
You caught a great moment in time as the lion gets a morning drink. I like that you show him in his natural environment. I think that sometimes we want to clean up an image too much and then it doesn't look natural. I love the rim light around the face and mane. To me if you lighten the body of the lion too much then it will look unnatural as that side is in the shade. This is a tough one. I wish I had more to offer but I do like this natural habitat image you have captured. Posted: 10/18/2025 22:43:53
It looks like your lion just had a big meal. This is a wonderful image of a natural behavior. The musculature in his arm is something. I also enjoy the light through his mane and his closed eye as he drinks. My only thought is that you could masks the top portion of the sky with a linear gradient to slightly tone down the sky. The sky seems to have a yellowish tone. There is a bit of a light rim around his rear end. Add this to your great series of lion images. Posted: 10/20/2025 17:27:25
Another beautiful image and well edited. I like how you brought the details out on the lion and it is not just a detail-less silhouette. This is just my viewing the image but something that catches my eye and that doesn't look or feel right is the tongue. I think it might be the color of it but I don't know how to correct it as I have run through many different editing processes trying to figure this out and correct it. Posted: 10/23/2025 17:27:21