I am hungry!

[Anette Mossbacher]

Leopard coming down the tree in Africa, Mashatu Game Reserve.
I can highly recommend this Reserve, they have recently built a hide under ground. You get great angles for wildlife with that :bg3:
This Leopard just woke up when we have arrived at the tree. We were able to follow this Leopard for about 1 1/2 hours through the bush. It was after some Impala. We couldn't see the kill or anything after that due to thick bush :eek3:

Camera Canon 1D Mark III
Lens 300 f/2.8 attached a 2x converter ( heavy enough for me to carry )
ISO 640
f/7.1
sec 1/400

[Morkel Erasmus]

Great to see this one here Anette! Love the intense gaze, the diagonal composition which makes for a very strong element and the soft (overcast?) light which enhanced detail here.
Colours look spot on but I may need to view tonight on the better monitor... :5 :cheers:
Crop looks just right on the body. Why did you not use the 1.4x converter? I would think that 420mm would be ideal for Mashatu?

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Morkel,

thanks a lot.
Had the 2x on for some birds before, guess I have forgotten to switch in all hurry, as we spotted the Leopard right next to the owl!
You know, everything goes so fast, I better left it on than, before I miss all the action.
With the crop you said, do you mean that I cropped the image in PS ? This image is like I shot it, no crop in PS at all. Cannot move much that Leopard :tinysmile_shy_t:

It was a bit overcast, you are right. The sun came out later on.

Thanks again, will see tonight what is up with the colors. I saved it for the web in PS !

Ciao
Anette

[Morkel Erasmus]

Believe me, I know all about having the wrong converter on!!! :Whoa!:

By "crop" I also meant "in-camera" crop thus your original composition, very well framed :5

[Ken Watkins]

Anette.

I just love the pose the outstretched legs and the slight amount of tongue add a lot. It seems slightly too red to me, but then we all see colours differently.

[Marina Scarr]

What a terrific capture. The diagonal line of the tree trunk makes it quite powerful. Love the colors, BG and that gaze!!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Anette,
like this one a lot but for final judgement, can you RP the image because it has no color profile attached. Now the image looks red , too red (Ken`s eyes are not too old :w3).
I took into PS and gave it a srgb profile ,looks better but still too red for an overcast day . (watch the whites in the fur ).

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Anette, we meet again, so soon too. :bg3:

The image looks OK as viewed on screen, but as Andreas has said, it has no colour profile, so when viewed in PS as an RGB file it's very saturated. If you have any questions about resolving this, converting or colour profiles, then let me know Anette.

Regarding the image I love that stance of the prowling Leopard, clear eye & focussed, claws at the ready and just the hint of the tongue, cool. Personally I might ease off any sharpening applied to the bark of the tree and I would end the crop on the RHS just where the tree hits the foot of the image, thus avoiding the lighter grass stem in the BKG. If it's the old 2x I would sell it and by the new one as the IQ is far better. Using the 300f/2.8 will also have given you all focus points too, which is handy.

Look forward to many more, but no Milka's :bg3:

TFS
Steve

[Anette Mossbacher]

Thank you very much Andreas and Steve.
The color profile of this posted image is sRGB, I have saved the file in PS: Save for Web and Devices
IN PS I am working with Color Profile Adobe 1998, as well shot Adobe 1998 RAW

I was checking in my RAW files and see see the difference, color wise, you both talking about. I will do this one again and will watch out for the reds and check the whites.
Will also try to crop, curious how that will look.

Steve, yes it is the old 2x, that image was taken Oct. 2010 To get the new 2x is a bit costly so far. Will check around, if I get a good deal somewhere than I sell my old one in ebay, as well my 1.4x. When I get a new one do you send me than a Milka Bar ? :tinysmile_shy_t: Just to get me over the cost depression :bg3:

Thank you very much

Ciao
Anette

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Anette, the working space should be Adobe RGB, but I bet you have missed something in your set-up. The OP is untagged.

I will drop you a line, along with a Milka. :w3

cheers
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Anette - nice pose and comp and I like the pov. Good suggestions above for handling the color.

TFS,
Rachel

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel, heard already about you :bg3: Thanks a lot for stopping by. Already working at the color handling :S3:

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi to all,

now I some changed settings in my PS with some help from Steve. :w3 phew, was a bit work :t3
I assume now all is correct, well it looks to me that way, hopefully to you all as well.
I cropped the way Steve suggested and it looks to me much better. Thanks a lot Steve and all others in this thread for your great comments and suggestions :bg3: :cheers:

See the new image :Whoa!:....

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Anette, well the Colour Profile issue is sorted, so that's the hard part done & dusted.

Based on the RP, I would be tempted to reduce the saturation in the BKG, seems a tad vibrant, but you were there so you have a better mental picture of how it was. I would also suggest reducing the Magenta in the whites. The crop is too tight now IMHO, rather than RP I let you know what I was suggesting.

cheers
Steve

[Morkel Erasmus]

Repost seems a tad vibrant to me too (but you were there). Here's what I think Steve was getting at...
There are many ways to do this. I just created a duplicate layer, converted that layer to B&W, masked and painted back through it, painting "less" on the BG greens :w3
What do you think? :bg3:

[Morkel Erasmus]

And while I am at it...blame it on the recent phase I am in to catch up on processing images for my B&W portfolio...:e3
What do you think of this?? Some will deem this unnecessary, but I've always liked how leopard portraits presented in mono/duotone

[Steve Kaluski]

I was thinking more, just to de saturate and letting the Leopard to come through more within the image, keeping it simple. :w3

[Arthur Morris]

Love them all. Colors look perfect in the original post. Like the B&W but for the too dark areas of the BKGR.

Where in Africa???

[Ken Watkins]

Hi Anette,

The re-post is certainly much better in terms of redness, but the tighter crop is for me not an improvement. Morkel's re-post looks better but I might have gone further but then Leopards come in many shades:w3

[Anette Mossbacher]

Arthur, that was in Botswana Tuli area, Mashatu Game Reserve.
Morkel had a laugh, as I am doing the same as you do as well. B&W
Ken, you are absolutely right with the crop I changed it again, will see how often :2eyes2:

Steve, you have seen it. I go now and try my best with all suggestions :bg3:

Man, are you men in here picky :tinysmile_shy_t:
Yeah, bring it on, love to learn more :w3

Ciao
Anette

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Anette. I am with Ken on liking the wider version here.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi All,

here the wider crop, desaturated the BKG, I took out both sticks to widen a bit more the crop.
I did not saturated anything, whitened the whites more and that's how it comes out, saved for Web and devices :w3
How is it now with the color and crop ? :eek3:

Thanks so much for all your input, this is great :bg3:

Ciao
Anette

[Ken Watkins]

Anette,

This is much better for me, the de-saturating of the BG seems to my eyes to have lightened ( or reduced) the red in the Leopard a little, and far more obviously on the tree trunk.

The wider crop is also much better. for me on my screen a tad more contrast would be perfect.

But in the end it is all down to personal taste, you should do it to please yourself:w3