Leopard Profile

[Rachel Hollander]

Since Steve posted the cheetah to complement my lion profile I thought I would finish off the large African cats with a leopard profile. I went back to the archives for this one too and processed it anew. Taken in the Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa in August 2009.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/400
f7.1
ISO 400
HH from safari vehicle, very slight crop for comp, levels, curves, selective color adjustments, sharpened in CCPS.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Rachel, a stunning image! To me, the open mouth makes it. She seems to be focused on something up ahead, and the moment was captured nicely.

The whiskers and the grass play on each other nicely too!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Really beautiful, Rachel! Sharp as can be! I aways love the look of blurred dry African grass as BG in a pic and this is no exception! Well done!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, your Leopard sighting are excellent, great to see such wonderful animals in prime condition. I like the side profile, I wonder why :S3: and also how it illustrates the convex nature of the eye.

If this isn't FF, then personally I would have like the framing moved down so there is say a third to half the original space above. If however it is FF, then just cropping some off the top would be good, although I'm not sure some space off the RHS wouldn't hurt either, there is a lot for her to look into. But all personal taste. Obviously time of day as we know effects colours, but I do find it quite red, look at the whites and the blacks in the gums. Dropping the red channel in Curves and then a couple of tweaks in selective colour does help IMHO, but it may become 'too clean' if you know what I mean. I also fractionally adjustedractionally the Blue in Curves in the 3/4 tones, but this may have created a slightly to 'cold' an image?

Having compared it to your original I actually made a composite, cooler BKG, but just brought a bit more warmth back into the subject. I appreciate that we will all see the image differently, but again, when we are at this stage it is very subtle. :w3


Need to take into account it's the 50D which isn't going to give you the same IQ as we normally see, techs look good and a nice BKG, perhaps a hint more sharpening, but still nice to view overall.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Miguel, Tobie, Steve and Peter. Steve - this is almost full frame with just the smallest sliver off left and top to have the crop fall correctly behind the ear. I knew the amount of negative space on the right would not be for everyone but I kind of like it. I can look at taking some from top and right though. Believe it or not I actually already dropped the reds. This was taken early morning on one of those days when the bush glowed red from the sunrise and I wanted to keep some of that warmth. Both versions work, it just depends on mood.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Steve Kaluski]

This was taken early morning on one of those days when the bush glowed red from the sunrise and I wanted to keep some of that warmth.

No worries Rachel, I might get you to try something regarding the RAW, although I'm sure I have suggested this in the past, will drop you a line and see tonight if it helps, or not! :bg3:

[Marc Mol]

Looking good here Rachel, good light and comp BG, I too prefer the OP and wondered Steve if you increased the sharpening here or just the result of your workings in the RP?

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve if you increased the sharpening here or just the result of your workings in the RP?

See Marc, those 'old eyes' that you refer too, are still sharp. Yep, as per my reply so you can see a comparison with the OP & RP. This is why all my comments that are made are based on application , I know the outcome then. :S3:

[Andre Pretorius]

Yip, the detail in the RP is amazing...

The reds in OP and RP…. like both, depends what mood you want to portray- Rachel wanted to show what she captured, Steve did it technically correct.

Photographers are a subjective bunch...

Andre

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel,
another nice intimate side profile portrait.What can we expect next ? What predator is left ?
Regarding the image there is too much space on RHS for my taste , i do like the tighter versions more.Hey it is just me.
I think for the 50 D a good image from the IQ POV.
Your version is almost monochrome , maybe it was the case for your eyes when you took the picture, i do actually prefer the RP with more tonal and color variations . Just my thoughts.
In the OP there is already lots of detail , but the RP squeezed out even more………...

TFS Andreas :S3:.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel, hello everyone,

Another interesting image and here goes my evening, staring at this leopard for over an hour and struggling to make up my mind which I like best, the OP or the RP?

I have just realised that lately I spend so much time reading comments and critique on other members' images that I do not get to process any of my own anymore:S3:. I enjoy it tremendously, it does move my mind and makes me think about what I am doing with my photography and why I am doing it, also how to do it better.

So here's some thoughts: I see PP work almost as a form of "translation" - we alter the original by cropping, enhancing, and yes, "tweaking", to achieve a result that is pleasing to the author as well as the audience. We eliminate the unwanted bits, we give space, in other words - we make changes. Rachel - you like to keep things natural and do not interfere much with your images. You do less "translation" in other words, and there is no need for it really, since the images are great to begin with. Steve comes along and does his subtle "tweaks" and turns this stunning image into printable perfection - a "translated" image.

I like both the OP and the RP, but in all honesty if I were to order a print I would choose Steve's version because it is somewhat closer to what I would like to hang on my study wall. A question comes to mind right now: is the photographer as "translator" supposed to tame his or her creative impetus and try to portray things as they are, or indulge in a couple of "tweaks", to negotiate with the taste of the viewer? I shall never find the answer to this, I am a prisoner of my own chromatic universe and as subjective as one can be. Perhaps it is all a matter of negotiation between the translator, the final enhanced product and the RAW image, whose unique colours should remain visible, at least to some extent.

Wishing you all a great evening,

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks everyone. And at almost 5 years later there is an even greater amount of subjective creativity and selective memory at play!

Thanks again,
Rachel