Leopard Vantage

[Rachel Hollander]

Another of the Vomba Young Male Leopard taken very early morning in South Africa in June 2014. He went from vantage point to vantage point trying to find potential breakfast to eventually give up on the hunt with the impalas literally just feet away. I know some will say get rid of the dung but it was there so for me it stays. :S3:

Canon 5D3
70-200 II @ 200mm
1/320
f5.6
ISO 1600
HH from safari vehicle, ff, levels, curves, color adjustments, sharpened in CCPS.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dearest Rachel,

I cannot believe you had this in your folders and only sharing now - this is stunning, my friend!

Awesome looking leopard in beautiful surroundings, love the warmth, colours are superb. I do not mind the dung, I am so used to seeing it just about everywhere we go, it's just a sign that ellies are around:)

Great IQ and sharpness, lovely pose from this Vomba youngster. I so like the inclusion of environment, the landscape is lovely - if I were to change something I would just take a tad off from the top, below the blue sky.

I enjoyed this tremendously, Rachel. I somehow thought you must have exhausted your leopard images - I was mistaken! Let us have some more, please!

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Gabriela. I still have plenty of leopard images. I took thousands, just ask Steve :bg3:. I actually looked at a more pano version with a crop from the top but decided to go with the ff to post.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice one Rachel. You isolated him well in the typical bushveld environs.
How about a crop from the top to remove the visible sky?
To me, elephant dung is a vital sign of context and it shows we still have elephants in the bush. Sooner than what people expect we may have those "clean" shots with no dung, because the elephants would be gone forever :(

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- This is a vcery beautiful frame , i liked the way you have included the environment a good use of the 70-200mm and the details and sharpness looks terrific . I too would consider to crop out from the top . But i loved this image Rachel , you have done full justice to the image .

TFS !

[keith mitchell]

Leopard looks good on it's raised platform ,looks like something as already taken it's eye.Good to see the rest of it's habitat ,agree with Haseeb regarding the use of your 70/200 it certainly worked very well with great IQ.Enjoyed viewing this Rachel

Keith.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Rachel technically a very fine shot , love the comp and the overall nice tonal range .
The leopard looking into the distance is great , better than a view straight into the cam .
I think the dung is a bit unfortunate , but hey this is where the cat rested , so no big deal for me .
The yellows are quiet prominent in the frame ..... at least i might alter the greenery to more green rather than yellow as they are in parts . Just add a bit more cyan/ blue to the foliage .

TFS Andreas

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Morkel, Haseeb, Keith and Andreas, much appreciate the comments and suggestions. Andreas - I looked at the yellows a couple of times and couldn't decide if they were a bit too strong before posting but I do think you are right.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Rachel, a fine leopard image in habitat with very nice comp, techs and details. The pose on the mound with good BG separation really makes this leopard pop. TFS.

[Marc Mol]

Love the attentive pose and inclusion of environment here Rachel, dung included, agree with cropping out the sky also.

TFS

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Rachel

A bit late on this one, sorry!
Do agree re sky, how about a pano?
Love the elevated stance of leopard, pose not often seen.
The gaze over there..makes you wonder what was behind the photographer.
Ok with dung, was it his?
:bg3:

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Sanjeev, Marc and Andre :wave:

[Steve Kaluski]

A nice encounter that morning Rachel and a subject that appeared to like being photographed.

Agree the Yellow (if it is that, or a combination) needs dropping, likewise dropping the crop. The 'dung' was annoying, nothing we could have done, that's Wildlife, but personal choice, it would have been nice not to have it within shot, rather than providing context, however I too have it in shot. :eek3:

TFS
Steve

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, I like your comp here, together with the intense stare, as if he has spotted his potential breakfast. I do like the soft light, as well as the overall african bush colours. The leopard is separated nicely from the BG, and cropping from the top wont harm the image. :w3