Leopard

[Rachel Hollander]

I know a lot of people have posted leopards lately but I thought I would post one for this month's theme. In the pre-sunrise moments the Vomba Young Male surveys his habitat.

Canon 5D3
70-200 II @ 100mm
1/100
f3.5
ISO 3200
Beanbag from safari vehicle, levels, curves, sharpened in CCPS.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Rachel. Very nice placement of leopard in the frame, nice soft light and habitat. TFS.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Rachel

Love the inclusion of the BG, does give the impression that he is surveying HIS patch!
Leopard well processed with detail in whites and darks.
My eye keeps on telling me that the image needs a slight CCW rotation? (looking at the vegetation at the back)
No noise seen on BG.
Did you use any EV?
Must have have a good bean bag for that SS....:bugeyed:

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Sanjeev and Andre. Andre - I'll take a look at the rotation. I shoot in manual and with the 5D3 there's no way to know the EV after the fact when shooting in manual. The 70-200 is a light lens and relatively easy to keep steady even at slower ss.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

A nice leopard in habitat image here Rachel, with good placement,

took the liberty of a RP with Andre's levelling suggestion and removal of the vignette, I'm not sure if the vignette was deliberate? Just an alternate view, all subjective of course.


. In the pre-sunrise moments the Vomba Young Male surveys his habitat.

As I take this was in Botswana, did you mean the Vumba young male?

TFS

Edit: not sure why the leopard isn't sharp now?? something in the web resizing when resubmitted perhaps, although this is close to 400k? ...................anyway, you get the idea :bg3:

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Marc - no this was in South Africa and is in fact the Vomba Young Male. The vignette was natural caused by the darker, red grasses.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Thanks Marc - no this was in South Africa and is in fact the Vomba Young Male. The vignette was natural caused by the darker, red grasses.

Thanks again,
Rachel

Ok, aplogies for my confusion :w3

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, a great open shot of the leopard, and I do like the soft light. Good IQ for your high ISO, and in turn, good sharpness on the leopard with that slow ss. Comp wise, maybe moving the leopard just a tad more into the frame wouldnt hurt, but thats my personal view. :w3

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

I could never have enough of those leopard images:)

I agree with Andre and Stu above, despite the slow SS the subject is tack sharp. Well exposed, colours spot-on and I like the inclusion of environment, as well as the natural vignette.

Love the attentive stare of the leopard - was he surveying his territory or maybe just stopped to admire the beautiful world he lives in?

Well framed and presented, Rachel. I would not change a thing.

Thank you so much for sharing, warmest regards,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- I always love animals in their environment and this is no exception ! Liked the way you have placed the subject in the frame , rotation sorts out the minor glitch but overall a lovely image .

TFS !

[keith mitchell]

Rachel never seen these animals in the wild but do think your scene portrays the way I would like to see them, It appeals to me the way it is and would not change anything.

Keith.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks everyone. I very much appreciate all the kind comments and suggestions. :wave:

[Morkel Erasmus]

The soft light has made him stand out nicely here Rachel.
I like what Andre has done with a crop, although both versions do work. Nice tones and overall processing.

[Basil Dardagan]

A top class wildlife image imho. So sharp for that ss and wonderful IQ for the Iso. Comp is the higlight and 'makes the image' for me

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel and Basil, much appreciated.