Stalking Leopard

[Loi Nguyen]

This leopard cub was foolishly stalking a spotted hyena taking a soak in the stream. Late in the afternoon, not much light left.

1DX
100-400 II @ 100mm
1/1000
f5
ISO-4000
HH

Steve, this one is for you at high ISO. No NR was applied.

Thank you for commenting on my previous images.

Loi

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Loi - It does look good for the high ISO. I like the sense of movement and the space to the right. No need for eye contact here because of the stalking posture. Overall I felt it was a little dark as posted and with a bit of a magenta cast overall and a blue cast to the whites. I dropped both in a hue/saturation adjustment layer and then in a levels layer brought the right slider in until just before the highlights clipped and opened up the midtones slightly. WDYT?

TFS,
Rachel

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Rachel, I initially had it a little brighter, but just before posting, I reduced the exposure a little to recreate what I thought was the time of day. in the shade of the hills at sunset, not much light. So it is more or less to taste I think. Good call on the Magenta and blue cast. I need to learn how to spot these color cast better. Thank you. Loi

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Loi,

Unfortunately for us photographers, some of the the greatest opportunities are accompanied by the poorest light... Be it leopards, lions or hyenas, predators love to move under the cover of darkness, and it is only through sheer luck that we have the opportunity to capture them in action, so I agree - this frame is truly unique and one of the highlights of your trip - am I right?

Like Rachel said, no need for eye contact here, it is the stalking pose that makes the image. Well framed with enough space all around, sharp where needed, and you were a fast thinker when it came to camera settings - so congrats from me!

Rachel's RP dealt with the colour casts and her version retains that "low light" feel, which I do like, very much. It still looks like there's a tad of magenta left there, at the same time I would not wish for this to look as if it happened in day light. I am now sitting at my desk in front of my computer, thinking I might have forgotten what the light looks like when the sun sets... I think it does have a bit of pink in it, a bit of blue, some red, some magenta too. It is really awesome, the African sunset - I have not seen it for some time now, so let me think about this for a while:) Love what you captured here, keep them coming my friend:cheers:

Kind regards,

[Loi Nguyen]

Gabriela, yes seeing this leopard cub in 3 different settings in 2 days was certainly a highlight of the trip. Mala Mala is amazing. Loi

[Gabriela Plesea]

Loi, I believe you:S3: But you just have to share the "encounter" you posted recently on Facebook, Andre just showed it to me! Amazing interaction! Would you perhaps consider posting a series of images (three will suffice) in Story Sequences Forum? Awesome stuff and I bet our BPN friends would love to see those images - I certainly do!

Warmest regards,

[Loi Nguyen]

Loi, I believe you:S3: But you just have to share the "encounter" you posted recently on Facebook, Andre just showed it to me! Amazing interaction! Would you perhaps consider posting a series of images (three will suffice) in Story Sequences Forum? Awesome stuff and I bet our BPN friends would love to see those images - I certainly do!

Warmest regards,

Gabriela, OK, will do. I have no idea this Forum exists! I will study the rules of posting and will select out a couple of sequences for the Forum. Saw that you are a Moderator, too. Congrats! Loi

[haseeb badar]

Hi Loi - a real special sight , the sense of environment where the leopard is hiding really takes the viewer at the time of the scene, You brilliantly captured the moment . Rachel has rightly pointed out the color cast problem and infact in Rachel's version the late evening feel is clearly evident .

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice behaviour captured here Loi.
Rachel's repost sorted out the colour cast which I picked up on immediately upon opening the thread.
This image also shows that eye contact is not the be-all-end-all in wildlife photography...

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Loi, Rachel has address the main issue, but to me, your guide should have got you ahead of the game and got you in a better position where the Leopard was coming towards you. Now I'm second guessing on the environment/location, but it does seem in two instances the image was almost there, but not quite due to your position & the subject. Guides really need to up their game, as you pay top dollar, therefore the results should reflect this IMHO and as Rachel knows, I often would question the radio sighting so we had all the facts before heading off. Possibly a pain I know, but it can be crucial!

Saying that, I love the 'stalking' pose and shows how agile these cats are. I'm glad to see you pushing the ISO. Obviously keep things within reason, however I just think often an opportunity is missed because of low SS, the more you get to shoot higher, the more you get to know and understand the 'pros & cons'. I limited myself when we did the trip with Rachel, not the case now.

TFS
Steve