Bright Eyes

[Morkel Erasmus]

Yet another Kgalagadi cheetah (a juvenile).
Tried something different here. About 60% of the original image (cropped for this effect).
No cloning done, BG as shot.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/400 SS | ISO-1000
EV +0.3

[Steve Canuel]

Hey Morkel,
Certainly is a clean BG. Detail looks good and a nice expression on the face. I don't mind the space on the side but the open space up top doesn't really appeal to me. Take my comments with a grain of salt as I pretty much lack any kind of artistic originality regarding wildlife pictures.

[hirandesilva]

Hi Morkel, The stare to the far distance seems that this is just before a high speed chase. This is different but the viewer gets idea. I wonder if it could be cropped a bit more on the right !

Hiran

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Morkel, great Cheetah portrait. Love it very much. I took it in PS made a pano, I think that suits very much, as well added a tad blacks and lifted up the whites in the Cheetah only.
WDYT? :bg3:
The pano can be seen, hope you see it with the blacks and whites as well here on the website!!
Forgot, I cleared those to darker branches to the very far right!

Ciao
Anette

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Fantastic detail and clarity in the cheetah. The op has grown on me but it does take a while to get used to all the negative space. I know you don't clone so I would crop closer to Anette's rp just to get rid of the 2 darker branches.

TFS,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, certainly it has clarity & detail and is a nice comparison to peters posting. Like Steve, the space isn't working for me either, it's just floating and something like this with the smallness of the subject with a larger expanse has to be nailed and the balance spot on. Personally Anette's RP I think is worth exploring, however keeping the subject at the size of the OP, but going 16 x 9 can work with the 1/3 running through the nose and the heigh just touching the head. Being off set to the LHS, small in frame with the space to the right really works IMHO.

Very 'airport' looking with it's clean tones and white space, selling the experience of African and the Wildlife. :bg3: I can see this as an illuminated advertising poster, sorry going off topic. :Whoa!:

TFS
Steve

[Jonathan Ashton]

I love the cheetah Morkel and I appreciate you were trying to do something that is a little less than conventional, sorry to say that for me there is too much empty space that is not contributing to setting off the cheetah. To me it is screaming for a portrait style shot - was it in a sitting position?

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks everyone

I was all for the large negative space on top initially, but I do like the pano presentation and will explore that some more!

For the record, Rachel, if I prepare a print of this I would have no issue with doing some cloning etc, as it's more "fine art" than natural history. :w3