Marula - The Leopard

[Steve Kaluski]

A side on profile of this gorgeous encounter with this leopard and a few frames on from the previous one posted a short while ago. This is shooting across Dean, the rangers legs hence the tight format. Not ideal, the vegetation creeping in over the whiskers, but nothing you could do without loosing perhaps a hand in the process. The clipped whiskers on the RHS are not an issue to me, as they appear just to bleed off IMHO.

Yes, if I shot this again the ISO would have been considerably higher to gain more SS without question, but sometimes with good technique, bracing yourself in position and controlling other elements you can, if lucky, just about get away with a reasonable slow SS, but something I would not consider doing now, unless I had better options in HH/support.


Thanks for either viewing or commenting on the previous image.

Steve

Subject: Youg leopard (Panthera pardus), head shot
Location: SA
Camera: Canon 1DX
Lens: 200-400f/4
Exposure: 1/160's at f/8 ISO800 HH
Original format: Portrait, very slight
Processed: LR6 2015 & PS CC2015

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Beautiful Cat Steve. Guess I know her :-) I love the detail and sharpness you achieved despite the slow SS. Wonderful PP work, absolutely spot-on. Love the comp!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Steve,

You must have an extremely steady hand - I don't think I have any images at 1/160s that look this good. I am afraid to even try, if something is so special I just push the ISO and hope I can manage whatever noise creeps in at a later stage:)

I love close-ups, this has wonderful detail and sharpness and I like the mottled BG, for it adds such lovely colours. Well composed and presented and I have no issues with the vegetation among the whiskers. Just a thought and I have not tried it - have you considered adding a tad of warmth to the subject?

Changing subject slightly for a second if I may - I saw a few images of two leopard cubs yesterday, taken at Phinda Game Reserve - they are so small, and so cute! We had the privilege - thanks to our dear friend Carl - to meet their mom some months ago. Hopefully we'll get to see those little chaps some day soon:)

...I must admit I have had two very enjoyable evenings browsing through the latest images on BPN, and shall not process anything until I have seen all I have missed over the past two weeks:) Thank you Steve for sharing this lovely portrait, enjoyed viewing as always and read with much interest all the info you provided, as well as your thoughts - always something to learn from you, even if I have read in-between the lines, LOL

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

Cheers Sanjeev, you might well have seen her. :wave:


You must have an extremely steady hand

Gabriela it's not just a steady hand and if I elaborated further you would think I'm mad, but the whole process works for me, but now I also ramp the ISO up, but always mindful of the techs where I can. I think Mr BE saw a Hippo shot a long time ago (the RAW) which was enough for him to know how sharp the image was at low SS, soft images are not in demand, LOL.

Cubs are awesome, so book your space before they get too old!



I must admit I have had two very enjoyable evenings browsing through the latest images on BPN

Gabriela, I think because there has been more diverse subjects posted, it adds to the interest, as it really doesn't have to be 'exotic' to be enjoyed. I think there is a lot we ALL can learn from each other, enjoy your evening.

Cheers
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Steve - A beautiful portrait with excellent detail. Yes, a bit more ss would have been better but this is sharp. Alison, Dean and I must all have been still too. I like the look of intensity in her eyes. No doubt this was after she had come down from the tree and was stalking the impala. Another long wait for us to watch an unfruitful hunt. At least she went for it and missed.

TFS,
Rachel

[haseeb badar]

Hi Steve -- excellently done inspite of the low SS , lovely colours and framing ! i guess sometimes high f no helps to get a sharp image even if the SS is low !
TFS.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Steve,

Kindly elaborate further when you find the time - I am very interested in your thinking and process, as well as some fresh ideas - off to the Kruger in September and this is one place I can afford to experiment, the KTP is way too precious for me so there I play it safe:)

I have this rule that my SS must not be lower than the size of my lens (300 or 500), always thinking my subject might take off and therefore I have to be ready for whatever might happen. This originates from my experience in the KTP where in the past I have failed to capture some amazing sightings and lots of action because my SS was too low (I now refer to my 2009-2010 trips).

Hope you have a wonderful evening,

[Steve Kaluski]

Kindly elaborate further when you find the time - I am very interested in your thinking and process, as well as some fresh ideas - off to the Kruger in September and this is one place I can afford to experiment, the KTP is way too precious for me so there I play it safe:)

Hi Gabriela, not too clear with regard to the above, can you drop me a line please, might be brief (nothing changes), as I need to finalise packing and collect gear that has been cleaned, etc.

Since Kruger, I have really changed my style, ultimately keeping SS high, also a greater understanding about the dynamics of the whole aspect of the AF and what it does and how it changes depending on what you are doing/shooting/how hard the lens works etc, etc. Nikon & Canon run a very similar AF, but in different ways to a degree, plus unless you are a geek, some info i gather is buried quite deep and other parts should be switched off to avoid confusion I gather, however..., with Canon they have the advantage offering three sets of options rather than two in tailor making the AF. My advice is get the exposure right, keep your SS high, but without being silly and think about when an animal/subject crosses you juxtapose to moves towards you what happens???

The modern digital cameras like D4(s), 5D, 1DX etc can be pushed on the ISO front without IQ loss, people are afraid of pushing the ISO and wonder why they get what they get, you get nothing for a soft image, only disappointment. I might send you a page of a PDF, still in the 'development' module, I need to see which may provide a very, very small insight.

[Loi Nguyen]

Steve, a lovely portrait. Your techs on these close up images are banged on. Good choice of F8, but as you said, pushing up the ISO to 1600 and double the SS would be a better way to go. I fond myself shooting at ISO-1600 routinely with the 1DX without any hesitation. I'm still reluctant to go to ISO-3200 unless I'm forced to. Loi

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Steve

The gamble worked, congrats on a stunning capture.
I keep on thinking about warming it up a bit..