Two lions sleeping together in Savuti, Chobe National Park

How do you deal with a subject partly in the shade? See below two male lions sleeping side by side in Savuti, Chobe National Park.

Lions sleeping in Savuti, Chobe National Park

Two male lions sleeping together. This photograph was created in the Savuti Game Reserve, in the Chobe National Park – Botswana.

ISO 1000 | f/4 | 1/2000 | Av Mode with no manual exposure compensation | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 300mm f/4 L IS USM lens, the Canon EOS 5D mark II supported on a bean bag.

Those two male lions are peacefully taking a nap together under the shade of a Mopane tree. The big issue with subjects partially shaded (like under a tree!) is that it will be nearly impossible to obtain a great exposure. In this case I had made the mistake not to manually overexpose with the manual exposure compensation coupled with Av mode. I thought it was a mistake. In reality I was lucky doing so! Why? You want to expose your images so that you don’t blow up the highlights and thus obtain a non clipped histogram the furthest possible to the right. How to deal with the dark areas then?

In this specific case I followed a three step procedure with the best image editing software:
1. Increase the brightness of the overall photograph in Photoshop so that you achieve proper exposure on the face of the subject. As you may see in the animated GIF further below, the original capture is quite dark.
2. Run Detail Extractor from NIK software (see our link to the right) on the two lions only put on a separate layer. Note that it is usually much better to select the area of interest and paste it in its own layer for best results.
3. Run a Linear Burn on the highlights all over the image. How do you this? Under Select / Color Range…, you open the color range selection wizard. Select the bright areas with the eye drop. Click OK, and then click on the Refine Edge Wizard in your top bar with the Radius at 50 pixels. This will give a smoother separation. Paste the selection on its own layer by clicking Ctrl+J, then choose Linear Burn in the blending mode.

If you are at a loss with all this Photoshop editing, keep an eye open for a group of Photoshop video tutorials I will be soon offering!

Lions animated GIF

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE END RESULT?

Would you like to have a chance to be in the African savannah to create such a photograph? Join me to the BOTSWANA & VICTORIA FALLS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR next September 2014! I will teach you step by step how to create the best photos. From beginners to semi-professionals. THE FIRST THREE PEOPLE TO REGISTER WILL BENEFIT FROM A $1,000 DISCOUNT!

Botswana Victoria Falls photography tour

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Steven

Botswana & Victoria Falls Instructional Photography Tour – Sep 2014

Join me as your tour leader to an amazing photography workshop in Botswana and the Victoria Falls! This exclusive African safari will take you from the Okavango Delta, to the Chobe National Park and to the mighty Victoria Falls. In September 2014, accompany me and a small group to the trip that made me fall in love with wildlife photography.
Botswana Victoria Falls photography tour

Are you ready to spend your days between game drives, photo critiques, Photoshop tutorials, drinks around the fire and great company? We will be exploring the African savannah aboard customized vehicles that are almost fully open, with side mounts to lay our heavy lenses on. Everything is thought to maximize the photography experience, starting with only one person per row in the vehicles.

African Safari Customized Vehicles

The photograph below is an iconic capture of life in the African savannah.

springboks walking towards a lion

Two Springboks walking towards danger. This photograph was created in Botswana – Africa.

ISO 250 | f/7.1 | 1/500 | Av Mode with no manual exposure compensation | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 300mm f/4 L IS USM lens (Canon 300mm f/4 L IS USM review), the Canon EOS 5D mark II supported on a bean bag. Have a look at the equipment I typically carry with me.

Those two Springboks are walking towards a male lion wandering about the African savannah. Big cat preys tend to be faster than their predators if they are given sufficient notice. African antelopes often directly face a predator or even start walking towards them to show that the cat has been spotted. It seems like an odd behavior, something you will certainly not see in a zoo!

Support our blog by following our links for your purchases. It comes at no extra cost to you and it helps keeping this photography blog lively!

Steven

Flightless Cormorant’s courtship

The photograph below is a pair of Flightless Cormorant going through their courtship ritual.

Flightless Cormorant - Fernandina Island, Galapagos

Flightless Cormorants in love.

ISO 1600 | f/5.6 | 1/640 | Manual Mode | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens with a 1.4x III Extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III, handheld.

This pair of Flightless Cormorants is swimming around each other in the cold water current of Fernandina Island, in the Galapagos Islands. What are they doing? Courting each other! 🙂 I was lucky to witness this superb display of chase and pursue in the ocean. Note that Flightless Cormorants are amongst the rarest birds with only 1,500 individuals left. This Cormorant lost the ability to fly and rely on efficient swimming.

Image optimization: As there was not much luminosity and I had to capture the action, I had to rely on a high ISO of 1600 in dark set up. Though the 5D mark III showed great ISO performance as usual, there was still some noticeable noise left. While I had lowered the noise with Photoshop Camera RAW, I decided to apply a second level of noise reduction. After creating a somewhat detailed selection of the pair of birds, I inverted the selection and pressed CTRL+J to copy and paste on a different layer. Then I applied a surface blur filter and voila!!

The photograph below is a pair of Waved Albatross preening each other during their courtship ritual.

Flightless Cormorant at the seaweed nest - Galapagos Islands

Flightless Cormorant portrait at the nest.

ISO 640 | f/5.6 | 1/2500 | Manual Mode | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D mark III, handheld.

This adult Flightless Cormorant is covering its seaweed nest. The male will come with seaweed leaves as presents for the female, while the female use the gifts as building block for a nest about 50 meters away from the water.

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Steven

Waved Albatross Airport in the Galapagos part I

Do you know where is located the International Waved Albatross Airport? The Galapagos Islands!

The photograph below is a Waved Albatross.

Waved Albatross Galapagos

Waved Albatross portrait.

ISO 640 | f/5.6 | 1/8000 | Manual Mode | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens with a 1.4x III Extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III, handheld.

This Waved Albatross had its head just above the tall grass, making for a fantastic opportunity of headshot in the midst of a green blur. This creation really did not need a shutter speed of 1/8000, but I was taking photographs of flying Albatrosses with a fairly bright sun when my attention was caught by this beautiful bird. The Waved Albatross spends most of its time flying above the seas and comes to the ground only during the mating season. The birds mainly concentrate on Espanola Island, in the Galapagos islands. They stay close to a cliff in order to have easier takeoffs. The resulting scenery is a spectacular airport for Albatrosses!

The photograph below is a Waved Albatross in flight.

Waved Albatross in flight

Waved Albatross in flight.

ISO 640 | f/5.6 | 1/3200 | Manual Mode | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens with a 1.4x III Extender, the Canon EOS 5D mark III, handheld.

Photographing birds in flight from a cliff allows for stunning captures of the bird from above. That kind of setup is not very easy to find and it is definitely worth spending some quality time at those spots. See for yourself the nice view of this Waved Albatross flying above the ocean.

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Steven

The 5D Mark III now autofocuses with the 2X!

The photograph below is a Sally Lightfoot Crab.

Sally lightfoot Crab - Galapagos

Sally Lightfoot Crab posing on a lava rock landing in Santa Cruz – Galapagos.

ISO 1000 | f/6.3 | 1/250 | Manual Mode w/ evaluative metering 0 EV | AI servo focus

This photograph was created with the Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II USM lens and the Canon EOS 5D mark III handheld.

YES! The new firmware update arrived for the Canon 5D Mark III. The main improvement is now the possibility of autofocusing at f/8 instead of f/5.6 only. This means that a lens with a maximum aperture of f/4 can now be combined with the 2X teleconverter and keep the autofocus with the central censor. This feature was previously only available for 1D bodys. Thank you Canon!

Go ahead and download the new 5D Mark III firmware update to benefit from this significant upgrade. Once the .FIR file is downloaded on your computer, save it on your compact flash by using a card reader. Put the card in your camera, go to the wrench symbol menu (4th yellow), then Firmware Ver.

Support our blog by following our links for your purchases. It comes at no extra cost to you and it helps keeping this photography blog lively!

Steven

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