African Wild Cat

[Hendri Venter]

Another one from our recent trip to Kgalagadi. What a wonderful place to visit.

The African Wild Cat is also known as the Desert Cat and are the ancestors of the Domestic Cat. They are mainly active during the night and twilight and in the daytime it usually hides in the bushes, although it is sometimes active on dark, cloudy days.

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 100-400 Lens
ISO 400
Aperture F7.1
Shutter Speed 1/160 sec
Focal Lenght 100mm
No Flash
Aperture Priority

[Harshad Barve]

beautiful image , lovely compo and details , I am loving lighting here
TFS

[Ken Watkins]

This is tremendous!

Not only have you got a picture of a rarely captured animal (certainly in daylight), you have got a marvelous image full stop!

[Marc Mol]

My sentiments exactly Ken, I have some at ISO 1600/3200 indicating very low light, but to get a Wild Cat in daylight with great lighting and clarity makes for a real winner!

[DanWalters]

Love the light and the eyes! Also like the way the cat is framed by the tree.

[Fabs Forns]

You can see how closely our kitties resemble the model :)
Great framing by the tree and good looking image. TFS.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Superb image. Seeing a wild cat without any obstructions and in good light is simply amazing experience. Well done.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[philperry]

Beautiful image Hendri. Super lighting and great expression. One of my favourite animals.

With 100mm you must have got a really close view! I just hope I get that lucky on my first digital foray to Kgalagadi next year.

[Betsie Storm]

Hendri, Very lucky find and an image to do it justice. I especially like the light through the ears.

[David Fletcher]

Fabulous shot Hendri. Great eye contact and IQ!

[Morkel Erasmus]

you had gorgeous light and a close sighting! I see you're holding back on the best sightings of your trip :)
this is marvelous!!

one question - did you apply some additional blur to the BG? my experience with the 100-400 is that the BG isn't normally this nicely blurred @ 100mm...:D

[Stu Bowie]

I like the light cast on the cats head, and with good eye contact too. Good sharpness throughout, and nicely framed between the two trees. The highlight spot between the legs draws my eyes there. Great sighting and well captured mate.

[ChasMcRae]

I am curious how you got this fantastic portrait with 100 mm of zoom ? Was he baited ? or habituated ? just luck ? called in ?seen before in the area ?
I have a fair pic of one on the hard pan of Etosha,Namibia but shot with 500mm(poss extender )and also shot in the day as it sunned near thin tuft of grass.
Would love to hear more of the story.

[philperry]

Charles I am sure that Hendri will answer your query. But from my experience in the Kgalaladi you can get lucky and come across an African wildcat right next to the road. They particularly like the thorn trees that line the river bed roads and if you see the cat in time you can get really close. I managed to do that once some years ago and it was only when I paused from taking pictures that I saw that the cat had a kitten just below her in the fork of the thorn tree.

[Hendri Venter]

Thanks to all for all the great comments. It is highly appreciated.

Charles, Phil is quite correct with his explanation. What happened in this case is the cat walked across the road and when she/he spotted us approaching jupmped up in a tree right next to the road. We could only managed a few shots before it decided this is to close for comfort and jupmed out and run to another tree further away. We've actually spotted a few cats close to the road in camel thorn trees during our stay but not so nice in the open as this one.

Good luck with your trip next year Phil. I'm sure you will take home some stunning pics.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Very striking image and the lighting is beautiful and just the right amount in IMO. Outstanding Hendri. thanks for sharing.

[ChasMcRae]

Thanks Hendri for the story. I love the stories and will have to google this location.

[Declan Troy]

This leaves me conflicted. I don't like cats (which this looks so much like, including a nemesis of mine stlaking the birds in my yard) but I love this image. Well done Hendri.

[Hendri Venter]

Thanks very much for the lovely comments Judy, Charles and Declan.

[john jackson]

Great shot of a familiar form in its wild state. I like it as it is. But, as a suggestion for an alternative post process, I wonder if adding a little darkness to the corners might show off the almost spotlight-like light on the animal.

[Hendri Venter]

Thanks John. Will give your suggestion a try.