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I'm not sure what other photo's you got from this encounter but would like to add a quick comment.
This is a classic situation when you need to quickly decide what the best shot is likely to be and then go for that shot. With so much green bush, the tar road and particularly good looking Males, I would have used a 300 mm to get the best portraits possible. At a low f. stop of say F2.8 or F4 you could then easily blur the background and have a shot with more impact.
Trying to fix the shot later is often not that easy but getting it right at the time saves a lot of post production work.
I also think that to really improve your shots( And here I'm talking generally about all of us) it helps to decide at the time what you hope the photograph will be about, i.e. Is it a portrait? Is it animal behaviour? Is it Animals in their environment? What are you hoping to capture. All too often we end up with a 'happy snap' - something that records what we saw in the same way as a quick holiday snap of friends on the beach. To Make a good photograph requires the photographer to not only focus his or her lens, but also their thoughts and what they are trying to say. And there are infinitely many ways to interpret this sighting.

Just a few things to think about.

Thanks peterpiper. You've made a few very interesting comments in your post - real food for thought when we're taking up the camera the next time (especially us beginners). However, I personally would not necessarily have opted for a low f.stop in this photo. Althought the two males in the front creates the major impact, a low f.stop would blur out the lions in the background as well, which I personally would not want to happen. But like you said, its really all about what the photographer himself wanted to capture.

As to this quote, very valid again. Its just a bit difficult to think about all of that when you know you only have 30 seconds or so before the leopard disappears in the bushes to the side of the road / that elusive bird flies away. Once again, I assume that distinguishes the beginners from the pro's.

Thanks Obelisk.
Yes, I would stress that one perfectly valid option would be a wider lense and perhaps even include the vehicle. It tells a story and could be a great pic.
As to thinking about what to capture, I'm only saying that we need to start thinking along these lines and after awhile it becomes 'instinct'. - Something that happens very quickly and without too much conscious effort. Half the battle I believe is recognising when a situation is worth lots of photos and when a couple of souvenir shots will do. Happy snaps are perfectly fine if your hobby is game viewing but if your hobby is photography, then much thought needs to go into the making of a powerful image. I believe that many people are capable of awesome, powerful photographs, indeed with the gear around today, just about anything is possible,
Avon ,I'm commenting at length on your particular photo because I know you take photography very seriously and can get great shots.

This is photography.

My personal vision would be:
Capture the image with the jockeys as main
topic.

Original:


And what I made of it:


Just used the clonebrush to edit out the car, copied (and mirrored) the edge of the trees to the other side of the road, and blurred a bit.

Amazing Duques (aka Harry )! It just concerns me that you're so good at this - makes me look at your photos in a whole new light ( ) Anyway, I'll stop posting in this topic, feels like we're taking over from Avon, who initially asked assistance.

Francois - I will remember your comment on this one Elephant - yeah right!

Peterpiper - I will post the first shot of the females - taken before the Jeep rocked up - and you will see the great DOF I got with the tar road fading and narrowing into the background. Was trying to get a similar effect, but thanx for your very thoughtprovoking tips Guess I should have changed lenses at the time.

Bert - Thank you - you have a gift to see the shot without the cam - something I still need to learn - if it's possible at all to do so

Obelix - we will get better with these guys help - we must just keep on bugging them

DQ - what can I say? Almost good enough for a postcard.

Thanx again for all the effort and comments.

The promised shot of the females and DQ you do not have to get rid of the tar - I quite like it in this one

This is a cool shot Avon, and yes, I also like the tar. Easpecially as it's wet. The pic is simple, has impact and tells a story.( Cats hate walking in long wet grass and often follow the roads)
Well done.

Now he tells me that he has another photo from the same angle!

Avon, nice one to try for you. Open this photo in Photoshop. Then put the one with the jeep on top (as a layer) and use the eraser to remove the jeep.
(You may need to position the two a bit first so they fit more or less exactly over each other.)

But I think you had your lights on, and wasn't using a flash?

Maybe I should have started this by describing the sighting.

We were traveling back to Pretoriuskop on a rainy afternoon with no traffic around – maybe everybody stayed in camp because of the rain – when we had this unique sighting. I immediately recognized the opportunity for some nice shots and got a couple before the Jeep and jockeys arrived. They then drove in-between the pride and our vehicle. I’m not blaming them for missed opportunities here, but I would happily have paid any fine for getting back a few minutes late (we were no more than 1 kilometer from the gate). They first stopped next to me and like DQ said already had their headlights on as it was getting dark quickly.

When the jockeys thought the tourists had enough and started moving forward the two males appeared. The Jeep decided to go for it and get back to camp and drove straight in-between the males &and the females – that’s when I shot DQ’s masterpiece. I waited for the lions to start walking and followed them for about 200 yards before they turned into the loop closest to Pretoriuskop (sorry no name on my map). I made it back to the gate with a minute to spare.

You will notice on this one and the one DQ edited that there is some “red-eye”, so yes, I did use a flash. (Nikon SB-600) because I know the on-board one is just for happy-snaps.

Thanx DQ I will try your recommendation.

Very beautiful picture Avon, nice colours and looks like a 3 D picture.

DQ, that bit of cloning you did was good, must say I find that clone tool the most useful one...... (I have grass growing where there is no grass sometimes!!!) some bushes become FULL of flowers too!!!
@ avon v........... great pics...... thanks for posting again.

Bushcamp
You wont like this, but i have no comments
A good, well placed marabou
My personal pref is the bird in its landcape