
focal length: 70 mm
shutter speed: 1/500
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: none
We were kicking ourselves for not having our 70-300mm telephoto lens with us when we went to the Toronto Zoo. I sure paid for it when I tried to take a picture of this lion and lioness resting in the cool of the shade. Take a look at the SOOC below:
Yuck! I know! I cropped in heavily, losing most of the pixels, warmed up the temperature quite a bit then ran Matt Kloskowski’s Nostalgic Effect preset in Lightroom to give it some “oomph”. Then I upped the saturation, added a subtle post-crop vignette with heavy feathering and voila! What a difference a little time in the digital darkroom makes.
I’ve had the 70-300mm for a few weeks now and I still haven’t tried it out. I need to get out more.
Laura is a Vancouver portrait photographer. Visit Dolce Life Photography.
[n.] a resource for parents who wish to take sweeter pics of their kids.
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renee @ FIMBY
Oct 16, 2008 at 6:41 am
very, very nice shot. Or should I say nice post processing. Looks fantastic especially compared to your original.
Paul
Oct 16, 2008 at 7:58 am
Looks almost like a 300 filter or something.
At least you have the megapixels to crop from. ^^
grace
Oct 16, 2008 at 8:05 am
i was like “whoa!!! which magazine did this pic come from”
killlashandra
Oct 16, 2008 at 8:12 am
Nice color processing!
Gayle
Oct 16, 2008 at 9:14 am
That is amazing! When you do post processing do you always use Lightroom?
laura
Oct 16, 2008 at 9:42 am
Thanks for all your feedback everyone!
@Gayle: I use Lightroom 98% of the time because it’s so fast and soooo easy and since I’m working with RAW files (rather than TIFF or JPG like I have to do in Photoshop), that’s another plus.
Gayle
Oct 16, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Thanks Laura! Your photos are always so beautiful. I know that’s not just because of Lightroom. Your SOOC shots are awesome, too!
Katherine
Oct 16, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Wow! Would have never guessed that you cropped it and processed it so well! Does look like it’s from a magazine!
Kirsten
Oct 16, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Oh man…that is awesome. Thank heavens for loads of pixals to choose from, huh!! Awesome editing…as always.
robin laws
Oct 20, 2008 at 11:53 am
now.. i do know what you mean but really… your post processing really makes up for the lack of focal range! i did get a 70-300 (canon) recently and believe it or not one of the first places i used it was at the zoo in chicago. and did you know giraffes have tongues like a hook!? they do! i was that close
laura
Oct 20, 2008 at 12:14 pm
@Robin: I’d love to see your zoo photos! I have one of a giraffe… I think I’ll post it for you later.
Not close enough with my 24-70. I’m dying to use my 70-300… I’m sure you will inspire me to do so!
robin laws
Oct 20, 2008 at 12:29 pm
oh i sent you 3 giraffes (is that plural or is it giraffe as in buffalo instead of buffalos?) in an e-mail just a few minutes ago! i want to see your giraffes too so yes do please post what you have
thanks for visiting me too!