bmazz Loc: Vail, CO

I'm entering another photo contest and am limited to 3 entries. These are my favorite lion shots and am asking the good folks at UH to give me their thoughts on their top three.

You've helped me in the past when choosing images for contests so I've decided to come back to the well.

All comments appreciated

Thank you in advance

"Annoyed"


Beware the hunter


Hero worship


Lion eyes


Mid Afternoon nap


Moniko Male


N'gurro & cub


Stealth


The handsome one


The Stare


Watchful eyes

Neweagle Loc: Wales UK

"Annoyed" and "Moniko Male" are stunning, all are outstanding shots. Best wishes on the completion...

Photog8 Loc: Morriston, FL

Annoyed, Stealth & Hero Worship work for me...but a minor suggestion. I think some of the photos are a little cyan-ish, might try warming them up a little with a touch of red.

Good luck with the contest...keep us posted.

Emm5

Wow all really nice but I like 1,2 and 6
Good luck!!
Are the zebras to terrified to run? Love this shot!

Jim Carter Loc: Momence, Il.

I like #1 and #6. All are great captures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LKincaid Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

I like them all. I would say "annoyed", "Stealth", and "watchful eyes" are my top 3 picks.

wonkytripod Loc: Peterborough UK

Annoyed and stealth for me. The others are all good as well

Kingmapix Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Those two Zebras hardly give a flick about that big male.
It's the female hunters that they are really afraid of.

Jim Irvine Loc: Indiana

bmazz: Great photos! Where and when did you create them? What were you shooting? Now, on to what I hope is helpful critique. The framing of "Annoyed", "Moniko Male", and "Watchful Eyes" work the best for me. Without sitting at your screen or being able to download the files, it's challenging at best to see what you are seeing. With that in mind the following comments are my subjective observations:

"Annoyed" - I find the background to the upper right of the subject just a wee bit dark. If you have access to good editing s/w (and it looks like you do), you might try using a brushing mask layer to lighten the backdrop a bit.

"Moniko Male" - while this is very nicely composed, I find the whole photo to be flat. You might try pushing the green and warming up the golds (combination of working the red and yellow hues, saturations, and luminance).

"Watchful Eyes" - Masterfully done! If it were my photo, and it's not, I'd add the most subtle amount of vignetting to the lower right, and maybe the upper right, corner.

Best wishes on the contest. When will you get the results?

GWR100 Loc: England

For me Stealth,Hero Worship & Annoyed. Great set though bmazz

LLucas Loc: Upstate South Carolina, USA

Man, I'm glad I don't have to decide between those!! They are beautiful.
Annoyed, Beware the Hunter and Watchful Eyes are my favorite three, but again, they're all tops. Jim Irvine's suggestions sound good, too.

Indrajeet Singh Loc: Goa, India

Superb, well taken. All very good.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Annoyed, Moniko and Stealth. But all are excellent.

Chinaman Loc: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

No wonder you need help to choose, they are all so good. They are different to each other, making it difficult to compare. My choices, not in any particular order, will be:
Moniko Male - I like the overcast lighting and the effect that makes it look like a pastel drawing. We see the whole animal and the different shades of his mane is just fabulous. We have direct eye contact with him. I would clone out that blackish object on the bottom left though, if allowed.
N'gurro & Cub - I can see the motherly love and tenderness in this picture clearly, animals that we usually associated with violence and death. Maybe add a bit more contrast to darken the background to make them stand out a bit more.
Watchful eyes - Beautifully done, with no obstruction of the eyes(unlike Stealth). A National Geographic shot. They are mesmerising and fixes your stare so much that you don't look anywhere else in the image, so you don't need to do anything to the rest of the image, which doesn't need doing anyway.
Annoyed just missed out for me. It is very good in that a moment of action was caught. But I would like to see the other eye as well.
Good luck.

Ugly Jake Loc: Sub-Rural Vermont

If it's female judges, N'gurro & cub (See the winner of the "feet " contest). The lighting and composition of Annoyed are the best, but it seems not as dramatic - I would go with the Chinaman, he is a much better judge of photos than I.