Going with the flow...

[Steve Kaluski]

Taken on the last morning in Savute, Botswana, about 7.00am.

I spent almost 30 minutes with this guy before we radioed in about the sighting, however we was not alone, he was on his 'Honeymoon' :) although it transpired it was with his daughter!!!!

Sadly the whole morning was over shadowed by a group who had been 'game shooting' and whilst in the queue to board the plane all I heard was how they had shot so many animals, including a Leopard. I then expanded my thoughts of them.

Steve
MKIII 500f/4 1/160 f/5.6 ISO400 (FF, beanbag on bonnet)

[Morkel Erasmus]

stunning portrait here Steve. I like the clear view and the regal pose, with complementing BG colours.
I would tone down the hint of blue visible in the whites.

Unfortunately Africa makes a lot more money from killing its glorious wildlife than from parading it in its natural splendour. I'm all for hunting a buck for the meat but killing leopards, elephants and lions is outrageous. :eek:

[Steve Kaluski]

I would tone down the hint of blue visible in the whites.

Agree looks more on the post than the actual file.:confused: Perhaps this might be better;)

BTW SIE (It's an International comp in the UK, Austin got a bronze)

[Steve Maxson]

I would second Morel's comments, Steve. The pose, light, and comp are outstanding. The repost is an improvement. Very well done.

[Callie de Wet]

Hi Steve! Now THIS is a leopard! Love it. As for the hunting, without it, many places of refuge will not exist, but us photographers can still enjoy it too.
Morkel, how do you know it was blue? I see nearly no difference between the posts, except that the second one is a bit whiter?

[Kiran Khanzode]

Nice low angle, eye contact. He's Big ! Could use slight more warming (my taste).
Agree with Callie, there's literally no difference in the 2 posts above :-). Are you playing with us, Steve?

If mine, I would post it like this ( increased color temp to remove the blue cast, some sharpening on the eyes).



As for hunters, private game reserves, challenges and ethics of photography, I will save my comments for another day.:)

[Austin Thomas]

Hi Steve,

Lovely portrait. Subject and BKGR spot on.
Beanbag on the bonnet? Are you allowed outside the vehicle in Botswana or am I misunderstanding something?

tfs

Austin

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Austin,

No you are not allowed out of the vehicle, even in Botswana, and guess my comment is perhaps unclear. FYI I sit in the passenger seat next to the driver, by chance I just saw the Leopard just sitting there in the lovely morning light. We backed up and I have three bean bags, one fixed to the side door the other two resting on the bonnet, just in front of the dashboard, if that makes sense? Tripod or clap is fixed in the rear of the vehicle. BTW Do not leave you BB in the vehicle over night if filled with rice, you may, like me, find it more like a colander than a bean bag.:D

[Ignacio Yufera]

What a stunning specimen, Steve. Gorgeous head and expression, no wonder you chose it as your avatar. I really like the cool tones and the left portion of the BG. The repost is subtle (at least on my monitor) but an improvement IMO. Congrats on a great shot.

[Harshad Barve]

excellent image Steve , love that eye contact here
TFS

[Todd Frost]

Nice portrait of this beautiful cat. Love the head on stare. Your repost helps with the cast but I agree it is still present in the whites. Seems at some point in the photo forums it is inevitable that hunting gets brought up. I will say we all have our agendas and rarely do we see another's as valid. I feel along the same line as Morkel has stated, meat on the table is ok but don't have the desire for trophy hunting. Would love to have this in my portfolio. TFS
Todd

[Ken Watkins]

Steve,
Seems like a "big boy" I have waited to see what others have said, before commenting. I think this is a nice portrait but definitely neds a little warming but not as much as Kirams repost. Leopards are not orange certainly not the ones I have seen.
Where were you staying, can I presume they did not have a front mounted tracker?

[Kiran Khanzode]

Thanks, Kem ! You might want to check your monitor calibration for sure....there's no "orange" anywhere...yes tigers are orange, that's true.

[LouBuonomo]

Lovely, agree with the comments. I am planning a trip there in 2011, where in Sauviti did you stay ?

[Ken Watkins]

Thanks, Kem ! You might want to check your monitor calibration for sure....there's no "orange" anywhere...yes tigers are orange, that's true.

Thanks for that,
My monitor seems OK to me!


Kem:confused:

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks everyone, hope I can reply to all where needed, if I miss anyone, SHOUT!

I am happy with the colour balance as is and reduce by 50% cyan & Blue within the original and at A3 there is a difference between the two posts, but as stated on my repost, there is minimal difference??? Selective colour used.

Kiran, certainly for me, your repost is a tad too warm. I will look at adding some warmth to it, but it was just as the sun was rising so the light was cool. Thanks.

Lou, I stayed at Savuti camp, Linyanti on the channel. They had not had water in the channel for almost 30 years . Then when we arrived the water started to flood in, creating new game tracks & wildlife, some of which the Rangers/guides had not seen before, which was interesting for all concerned:) If you are going there, ask for Emmanuele the guide I had, he was good, but as a team we hit a 'purple patch' and got everything:):):) He deserved a case of beer. You might even see a book I did, floating around there.

Lou drop me a line if you need more stuff, happy to help.

Ken, no front tracker, only Driver, myself & Alison. At my age I need all the room I can get, especially with that large bag of ego, too:p;);)

If the link works, here is the guy in action recently:

http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/news/camp_news_detail.jsp?newsItem=15001

Thanks once again folk.

Steve:)

[Stu Bowie]

Steve, great pose, and good to see him in the open too. With reference to the colours, I do see the blue in your OP, and your repost sorts it out well. With the colours of yours and Kirans on the leopard, I feel an average of the two would be more accurate. Cheers.

[Ed Cordes]

Beautiful animal. I like the re post by Kiran best. It is truly sad that people take so much joy in proving their manhood by killing these animals just for fun.:(

[Hendri Venter]

Magnificent animal and many congrats on a perfect image thereof.