On the Run

[edwardselfe]

This was a very unusual situation which we watched over a couple of hours. A hyaena was harassing this young male leopard who was walking around under a small tree. He'd stashed an antelope carcass in the tree but the hyaena's presence was making him nervous and he didn't want to feed. But instead of waiting for the hyaena to move off, he eventually decided to climb the tree, collect the carcass and then make a dash for some nearby thickets. We watched most of the action through binos as it was too far for cameras, but when he started to run across the plain, I shifted the vehicle and managed to get parallel with him before he crossed in front. I took about 6 shots, but this was the best I think.

1D4, 500mm f4, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/3200 sec

Sharpening, minor blurring of grasses in near background and 75% crop from original. For some reason, this doesn't look as sharp as original on computer.

Comments welcome. Thanks!

Ed

[Girish Prahalad]

excellent freeze! the outstretched body with the prey is dynamic. sharpness looks good for me.
maybe a bit of rotation?

[Andre Pretorius]

Wow, to be able to capture this! To me is seems crisp enough. Agree with Girish to straighten horizon. Have you thought of a pano crop, Edward?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Edward,
stunning action shot, think really seldom to get this.
Well processed , for me.Like the tonality ,colors and comp, would not go for pano, because it shows the environment where they live in.
I would try to tone down the yellows a fraction ,and maybe try to lighten the eye.

Really nice TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Ed, an outstanding image, well seen and a superb capture. :cheers:

Again, people are ahead of me which is nice, but I to agree on a slight rotation and a 16 x 9 crop. This will then be in line with the subject and I think give greater emphasis to the content. Nice clarity & sharpness where it counts, cool image.

TFS
Steve

PS Ed can you just knock back & reduce the size of the signature, it's just a little dominant overall, thanks

[Loi Nguyen]

Well capture of the action! Hopefully he got to keep his dinner. The one we came across one morning wasn't as lucky and the hyena took the carcass. Agreed with just a slight bit of rotation and a little less yellow. Loi

[edwardselfe]

Thanks for comments. I had originally tried a pano crop, but didn't like it so much. However, have had another go and I do like it more now that I look at it again. I've reduced the yellows to -20 in HSL and rotated slightly. Strangely the original is actually level, but there was a slight hill which the cat was running up. Nevertheless, have leveled so leopard looks more normal.

Steve - thanks for advice on watermark. Have reduced.

Does this do it?

Ed

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Ed, personally I like the tones in the OP, there is a nice warmth to it, conveying the richness of light, something we all strive for, but rarely achieve. Looking at both formats, again either works for me and now I think it comes down to personal preference. With the 16 x 9, the dead tree/branch(?) (that is above the head) now catches my eye, however, when removed the dead space above then looks odd so leave it in, it's the environment.

Thanks for taking note on the © much appreciated.

Steve

[Markus Jais]

Stunning action shot. I like the position of the legs and the prey on the cat's mouth.

Markus

[vishaljadhav]

I like this one a lot, its a difficult image to achieve for the action
the OP is nice and with the pano crop will be lovely, when i see the OP and the RP i find that the non straightened version depicts more power in the run just due to the tilt, however its all personal preference and i love what you have achieved here, the OP does have great colours

best regards
vishal

[Morkel Erasmus]

There's nothing like golden light on a leopard's coat. Fabulous pose/behaviour captured here Edward.
Here's how I see the crop/tonality best. Used your OP, but high res obviously would be your best base to start from.
I cropped to pano as I saw it (from top and bottom), added some LCE to the leopard only, used a luminosity mask to tone down overall brightness a bit, and then dodged shadows on the leopard's face slightly.

Your thoughts?

[edwardselfe]

Thanks for all comments. I resisted the temptation to crop too close, but I like the pano crop shape. Morkel's RP looks great but I might back off a bit to show more of the environment - like the colours and intensity and the extra shadows on the face. I will work on it. I'd also like to try a dramatic b&w which would show off the muscles of the leopard perhaps.

Much appreciate comments and efforts by all. Could someone please remind me where to find info on luminosity masks? Thanks.

Ed

[Morkel Erasmus]

Edward, the most comprehensive resource on lumonisity masking is on Tony Kuyper's website (www.goodlight.us) but this pertains more to finer workings specifically for landscape photography. Great set of tools to learn to use!

If you are looking for a quick and easier action to add to your workflow, check out the sticky thread showing Robert Amoruso's quick lumo mask for toning down highlights here:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/90760-Robert-s-Processing-Tips