Eye Of The Leopard

[Kiran Khanzode]

To capture the 'Big Five', usually the Leopard and Rhino are the biggest hurdles. Not this time, I got them good with cubs/calves.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Feb 2010.

EOS 7D, 300mm, ISO 400, beanbag on jeep, FF(almost).

Kiran

[Ken Watkins]

An interesting pose, I would definitely "remove" the twigs in the lower left hand corner, as it looks like the Leopard is about to collide with them.

[peter delaney]

agree with ken.... you have a great image which will only be enhanced by the removal of the twigs

well done

[Marc Mol]

Can only echo Ken & Peter on this, removing the Acacia branches would substantially enhance this promising image.
TFS

[Harshad Barve]

Excellent image on all counts , myself not decided on cloning but I may leave it as it is of mine
TFS

[KathieThomas]

Great looking shot though. How do you make it look 3D like that, like it's mounted on board or something?

[Kiran Khanzode]

Thanks folks, for your views. I believe the thorns provide some framing and create a tension which I like, personally. And, no, I usually don't clone anything, cloning gives me sleepless nights :-). You get what you capture (in my images).

@Kathie: Thanks, the one way to get 3-D effects like that is to get as close as you can to your subject(possible) and create a lot of distance between the subject and BG (not in your hands), that along with a fast aperture creates the effect.

Thanks, again !

[Stu Bowie]

Kiran, I like the comp, and an interesting capture. This works for me, and the leopard stands out nicely against the colourful BG. Another vote for removing the thorns LLC.

[Sid Garige]

Excellent image Kiran. Intense look is working great here.

[Vinay Lakshman]

I am loving the climbing down pose , the thorns wont bother me . VWD Kiran

[DanWalters]

Like how the color of the leopard matches the background and the position as well. I agree about removing the thorns.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I can't believe you got to the Serengeti before me, and I live in friggin' Africa :eek::D

love the unusual pose and image quality here. agree with 'removing' the twigs but these days I find myself opting to clone less and less and rather trying to frame it better in camera - which is difficult to do with once-in-a-lifetime shots like this :)

[Kiran Khanzode]

Thx,all, appreciate the candid feedback.

@Morkel, hu-ha-ha, next stop -->Masai Mara :-). J/K. I try not to clone at all, cos if I submit something in competitions, I don't want to get caught with embarrassing questions to which I don't have answers for :-).

[Morkel Erasmus]

@Morkel, hu-ha-ha, next stop -->Masai Mara :-). J/K

Mara! Lucky blighter...you're making me think angry thoughts...
Don't worry - I'm off on Thursday for a short stint in the Sabi Sands with some of the most photographer-friendly wild leopards in the world ;)


I try not to clone at all, cos if I submit something in competitions, I don't want to get caught with embarrassing questions to which I don't have answers for :-).

Yeah - I hear you - which is why I never submit an image to a comp from an already processed file. I'd rather work it from the RAW from scratch. :D

[Kiran Khanzode]

Mara! Lucky blighter...you're making me think angry thoughts...
Don't worry - I'm off on Thursday for a short stint in the Sabi Sands with some of the most photographer-friendly wild leopards in the world ;)



Well, then, let's set the bar a bit higher. :-)

Unless you get pictures of a leopard mother and a tiny little cub cuddling together or something more awesome, I won't be impressed :-). Cos, that's what I got from Serengeti.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Well, then, let's set the bar a bit higher. :-)

Unless you get pictures of a leopard mother and a tiny little cub cuddling together or something more awesome, I won't be impressed :-). Cos, that's what I got from Serengeti.

jikes!! :eek::D

prove it ;) (this does not question your integrity - it's merely a PLEA from my side to POST them! ;))

[Vivek Khanzode]

Kiran

Love the image! I think I commented on other boards to the effect, but I DO like the thorns of the Acacia on the left. It would rob the image substantially if these were cloned; but that I think is personal preference.

Need to see more of these images.

-- Vivek

[Markus Jais]

Wonderful pose. Great detail and sharpness.
I think removing the twigs might improve it but I also like them. I think both versions would be fantastic!

Markus

[Harshad Barve]

I have one question for all Gentlemen here who asked for cloning thornes , Do we want to see Leopard in wildnerness or in Studio with cleaner BG , Come on guys this image has been made in wild and trees/leaf/thornes are part of Jungle. Thornes and Leopard live on the same tree and they are part of their HOME,

Too much clean images from wildlife wont look good IMHO , Grass blade across eye of Tiger/Leopard looks good and gives you feel of Jungle

[Ken Watkins]

Harshad,

I cannot disagree with your comments. You have shown it is how it was and I like to see images reflect actuality.I remember a friend of mine being criticised for leaving Elephant dung in the picture, I have also been criticised for bird poo on a rock!
Nevertheless I think the image would be better without the thorns, perhaps a larger crop at the bottom would remove the bulkier parts.

[Harshad Barve]

Ken , Too much of cloning or cleaning the image will always loose feel of Jungle and may not be able to improve image as WILD one ,
two examples ,
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2454&category=45&group=3 Too many OOF FG green leaves but this image is very powerfull

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2482&category=3&group=1 OOF tree trunk in left do not make any impact as Tiger action is what most important here

Just my 2 cents , nothing personal

[Ken Watkins]

Harshad,

I can only really comment on the second picture as I have seen a far better version of it. The picture would not have been possible excluding the tree, what makes this special is the rarity of the sighting, and of course no cloning is allowed in this competition.
Nothing personal as well!:o

[Kiran Khanzode]

Harshad, all I can say is..."Thanks to BBC for recognizing shots taken in a natural environment".