Jeff Courter | Underlined something below the surface

Have you stood next to Aslan?

Aslan

So, I was at the Madison Zoo taking some pics inside by the Lion’s Den. This little girl walks up to the glass and sticks her hand and face right up close. The massive lion strolls right over to her and matches his face up with her hand.

Photograph.

There was hardly any light in place, so I ramped my ISO up to 1600 and shot at 1/80th of a second with my Sigma Zoom Lens. There was so much grit that I had to bring the levels way up in post (Adobe Lightroom). I also reduced the saturation. It wasn’t until I was done that I looked at the picture and was like, “Holy Smokes!” That could be a book cover for “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” Every time I show someone this photo, immediately the response is, “Oh, it’s Aslan and Lucy.”

I hope that if someday people look at a picture of me and a ferocious lion, then would say, “Oh, it’s Jeff the Mighty Lion Slayer.” But if I marry a girl named Lucy, I probably wouldn’t kill a lion.