Cheetah Cub in Grass

[John Ippolito]

Cheetah cub taking a break from feeding on springbok kill. <o:p></o:p>
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa side.<o:p></o:p>

Photographed a couple of years ago, I keep coming back to this image. In the field, at first disappointed by the lack of a clean shot, I was taken by the possibilities of shooting through the impressionistic layers of OOF dry grasses. This was the cleanest opportunity presented before night fell. The cub's head was deeply stained from contact with the carcass. <o:p></o:p>

Going for something a little different here, it looks more like an illustration than a photograph, especially in the jpeg conversion. Maybe the result is a bit too diffuse, but it prints nicely on a fine art cotton rag.<o:p></o:p>

D700, 500/4 VR f4, 1/1600, ISO 1000, beanbag, crop from left and top. Sun was all but down.<o:p></o:p>

Big thanks to Morkel for suggesting a terrific 14 day itinerary in the park. The drive upfrom Capetown was spectacular as well.

[Morkel Erasmus]

It's good to see some images from your trip, John (and it was a pleasure, you are welcome :5).
Is there anything specific you did in PP to get the look you got here? Please expand on that?

A few questions to everyone, to get the critique flowing (taking the queue from Steve):
1. Does it need more space in any direction? If so, why?
2. Would there perhaps have been merit in stopping down just a bit (f5.6 perhaps)? If so, why?
3. Does the RHS bush bother you? Why?

PS: I changed your text colour to black - it was white

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I love this image. I think it is so unique because it is shot thru vegetation. It created such a cool "window" to see the cheetah thru. I love the blood on the face and the expression that goes with it. As far as room goes I like as presented but wonder if there is more room to the left but probably a clipped tail so this crop would work. I really like the oof vegetation, all of it and stopping down may have worked as well but this effect is really cool IMO

[Diane Miller]

I love the wonderful, dreamy look here! The cheetah is so sharp and the FG and BG so beautifully soft. And I love the bush on the right. It offsets the cheetah very well. If I were doing an art piece, I would consider moving that bush a little closer to the cheetah -- the amount of gap there blocks the eye a little.

If there is more on the left, it would be interesting to have a look at it.

To be absolutely nitpicky, I'd lighten the dark area in the UL and probably the one in the UR. But this is one I'd love to have on my wall!!

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi John - there's no color profile embedded so there is a color shift in what is displayed compared with viewing in PS. You did well in the low light. Great eye contact and the amber eyes are shown off so well here. I do think it is a little tight on the lhs and below. I would prefer to have enough room for the rest of the body. I actually find the bush on the rhs to be drawing the eye and competing with the cub. Another option here would be to go with a vertical crop. Overall though, an image I would be happy to have in my files.

TFS,
Rachel

[Don Railton]

Hello John.. Beautiful image. I agree with Rachel in that the RH bush to be a little too prominent (eye catcher) and would smudge it up a little more. I would also add a little sliver to the top to put the eye line a little lower in the frame and to the left as already mentioned. Finally the head of the Cheetah has a slight blur on the RHS (as viewed) which I wish was not there as would make the head more defined. Not sure if that blur was OOF grass or something you added. I am guessing its OOG grass... DON

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi John, and a very warm welcome back. Nice to see you posting back here again and I'm sure we can all benefit from both your images & replies to posted threads. :cheers:

Firstly Rachel is spot on, the image has no allotted profile, so it looks quite saturated, but when it has an sRGB profile, it starts to look good. Perhaps an unchecked box in PS? If you need a pointer let me know.

Personally I would like a bit more image space to the left, it's a wee bit tight for me, likewise, perhaps at the foot, but debatable. I assume you shot at f/4, therefore perhaps f5.6-f/8 may have been better, as the depth of detail isn't quite there in the face, especially if this is not that much of a crop? I don't might the 'painting look' and the surrounding vegetation has given a lovely setting to portray the Cheetah in and a welcome change. The Blacks to me look a tad heavy and I might be tempted to be selective and open some areas up. Did you leave the Contrast default setting here John, +25? Certainly opening up the mid tones gives the image a lighter overall feel & presence compared to the more heavier richer look, but again it is how you envisage portraying your image John. Just a thought, but adding a little NR to the environment just helps to blend things a bit more? Your call on the branches to the right, but loosing them I feel gives a cleaner image and the focus is then kept purely on the subject, moving the bushes closer Dianne to the cheetah would conflict and unbalance the image, as it stands, the bushes look OK as presented if you kept them in.

TFS
Steve

[christopher galeski]

one magic image,beautiful eyes,love the out of focus veg,well done.

[John Ippolito]

I truly appreciate everyone's straightforward comments. All opinions are welcome and valid - it is interesting to see how the details enhance or detract based on individual bias. I am always looking for the gut reaction. My reason for posting it was to see if the slightly defocused appearance of the left side cheetah's head was a problem for viewers. That part of the face was partially obscured by dry grass between lens and subject. I did not want to mention it thinking I would create a nucleus for bias on that detail alone.
I had plenty of shutter speed, and ISO available to stop down, but I was looking for the absolute minimum DOF for the OOF grasses effect. To the left were parts of other cheetahs, and gnarly, dead, dark OOF camel thorn trunks.
The bit of dark brush on the right side balances the cheetah in the composition for me. Repost is with "manufactured" canvas on the left for better balance. BTW, the actual print has some manufactured canvas on the left, though not quite as much as the reposted jpeg. I feel there is plenty of bottom space here, and a vertical just wasn't an appealing option in the field.
Rachel and Steve, the profile on the repost is now properly embedded, I believe?
Morkel, and Steve, a bit of tonal contrast enhanced the look I was after, but it was used on a layer with low opacity. I find my print clients are more interested in these departures from realism. I have been studying painting more than photography lately, maybe my vision is tainted.:S3:

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi John, a very honest reply and I really like the openness of your thinking and vision here, something we could all learn from.

Re the bush, I tend to agree as I mentioned earlier and the placement is spot on. I think the additional canvas to the LHS works and helps the elements to balance overall. Sadly though John the image still has an untagged profile. If you drop me a line with your email I fwd some screen grabs to check against your settings.


I have been studying painting more than photography lately, maybe my vision is tainted.
It's certainly not tainted John, you are just looking, seeing and creating with a different perspective and sometimes it's good to explore, as it keeps things fresh. Is this a series or a one off? Hope to see more.

cheers
Steve

[Diane Miller]

The addition on the left works for me. The more saturated BG in the UR competes with the cheetah a little, lovely as it is. Or it might be balanced by a little more sat in the LL.

Gut reaction is WOW!!!

[John Ippolito]

Steve, Thanks for the kind words and your usual sage advice. :S3: Also, I think the profile is finally correct - CS5 kept unchecking the profile box. This one stuck, I believe.

Diane, thanks for the encouragement ! I will play with the UR sat level.

[Rachel Hollander]

John - yes, profile is embedded this time. I like it with the extended canvas on the left. Nice work.

TFS,
Rachel

[Shreyas Mantri]

John, to me personally, I like the overall contrast, saturation and the excellent pose. The repost canvas does look better.
Thanks for sharing this!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

This image keeps growing on me every time I see it.:wave:

[Andrew Aveley]

a very accurate representation of the Kalaghari with afternoon light and those yellows , oranges and reds........ The final draft is incredible !