Chillin'

[Rachel Hollander]

Another of one of my favorite subjects, the mother leopard in the Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa.

Canon 5D3
70-200 II @ 200mm
1/200
f4.5
ISO 1600
Flash
HH from safari vehicle, cropped, luminosity mask, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, sharpened in CS6.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Steve Canuel]

Superb IQ on this one Rachel. Nice job with the flash. I'm kind of diggin' the bright sky BG. I also like how the fur seems to be melting and running out of the frame in the LLC, reminds me of that painting by Dali of the melting clock.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, a very nice relaxed leopard and the flash worked well, although I'm not sure if it needed pegging back a fraction, giveaway is in the eyes. :S3:

Overall it's a nice image, blacks might be a little strong, but personal taste. Personally I might crop just under your name and about an inch off the LHS, just feel there is a lot of space there, perhaps moving the whole frame to the right might have been better if the opportunity was there? Did you try tweaking the greens as per last time? Nice sharpness & clarity, good IQ based on ISO1600.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Steve and Steve. I didn't move the framing to the right in the field because there was a tangle of branches and leaves there that I thought overwhelmed the leopard. I had looked at cropping more from the left but preferred this comp. I do have wider views with the entire leopard and much more of the tree. I can post one of those in the future. I did tweak the greens but maybe not enough? I agree about the flash and am always hesitant to use it in the field but also find that at sightings sometimes you have to deal with other people's flashes too. Can't remember if that was a factor here.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

I did tweak the greens but maybe not enough?

That's fine, just curious, personal taste ob how far to take it. :S3:

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Rachel, just love your Leopard images. As always spot on :bg3:
The two Steve have said already most. For me I might would prune the one leave nearly touching it's right ear! But that is just me.
Very nicely done :w3

Ciao
Anette

[Jonathan Ashton]

Love the leopard super details and colours, I get the impression that something is awry with the tree above the leopard, it looks a bit wishy washy to me. Other than that excellent.

[Nancy Bell]

Fantastic leopard! Wonderful eyes with such an intense stare. And lovely fur details. With the main part of the leopard so eye-grabbing, I like the subtle inclusion of the front leg over the branch. I agree with Jonathan that the leaves above the leopard & below the lower branch are a bit odd but possibly that is due to the getting the exposure perfect for the leopard that then pushed the leaves and the sky off. Certainly not a big issue.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Anette, Jon and Nancy. My guess is that Nancy is correct about the foliage but the foliage also appears to have been partially eaten by something so that adds to the effect. I'll post a wider view of the scene either later tonight or tomorrow morning as a separate post.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

I actually prefer this to the wider one for the facial details, Rachel. Especially with the washed-out sky, going closer was the right call.
No worries comp-wise for me. Again, perhaps just a slight increase in WB warmth?

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel, will look at a slightly warmer version as well.

:cheers:,
Rachel