Legadima the First Lady of Mombo

[Grant Atkinson]

Canon 1Dmk4, Canon 300f2.8, handheld. S/speed 1/125s, f/4.0, iso 400. Cropped slightly, two twigs removed from bg. We spent a fair bit of time with the well-known leopard Legadima on the recent photo trip to Mombo that I did with Andy Biggs. This very successful leopard had just eaten an impala, and was resting. When a pair of spotted hyaena walked by she opened her eyes. The very late, and soft light coming through the leaves provided a chance for a portrait shot. I shot tight as there was lots of vegetation in the surroundings. I also wanted to emphasize the contrast between colours and textures, of the leopards coat and colour, against the dark bark of the acacia tree she was resting on. Location Mombo Camp, Botswana, July 2011.
All C and C welcome
cheers
Grant

[Marina Scarr]

The way the light is hitting this leopard's face makes this capture so captivating. The details and colors are so amazing, it's as though she is right there in front of me, and oh how I'd love to reach out and pet her. :eek3:

[Jason Stander]

Great light and clarity... superb portrait... VWD Grant!:w3

[Morkel Erasmus]

The light is simply exquisite Grant! Like the composition very much with the OOF paw and the bark details/contours.
Overall there seems to be some magenta in the acacia bark and a bit of a green/cyan cast overall, so I did a very quick repost here, let me know what you think.

Summary of adjustments:
Colour Balance to move away from green and blues and add a bit more yellow and red
Selective desaturation of magenta, cyan and blue
Might be a tad too 'red' now but let me have your thoughts anyway...

[Grant Atkinson]

Thanksfor the comments Marina, Jason and Morkel..as for the repost, thanks for that too Morkel, your shot looks a little better to me. I am currently not processing on the computer I usually use, it has lost half its RAM, and getting your computer repaired from location Savuti takes a little time :S3:
I will adjust my original image accordingly...
thanks again
Grant

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Grant, you can understand why/how she made the NG magazine & a video. Are Bevely & Dereck still around?

I very much like the relaxed pose & feel to this and the bark of the acacia is a great platform to base the composition on. Personally I feel it's a little too dark & saturated, but then it might be true to the conditions, only you know, but glad to see you didn't use a flash. The muted BKG colours work nicely with the overall look & feel. Sorry to hear the PC is still out of action.

You should have my thoughts so won't repost unless you feel it would help, but in Adjustment layers:
- I would open it up a bit more in Curves
- Reduce a little the saturation
- Adjust the Red, yellow & Blue in selective
- H/S on the eyes

I think the hardest is the bark, yours looks a bit Blue, Morkels a bit Red

TFS
Steve

[Robert Amoruso]

A very expressive portrait of this beautiful creature. I like the pose on the tree - and great detail in the tree too that does not distract due to its dark texture. Well done throughout. Tweak as you see fit base on the above comments.

[Grant Atkinson]

Thanks Steve and Robert,
I will take colour suggestions on board when processing...thanks again for commenting
cheers
Grant

[Hilary Hann]

This is very beautiful Grant, I love the way the light falls on the leopard's face and it is always nice to see predators in a reflective pose. The bark on the trunk adds nicely to the feel of the image. She is deserving of her stellar reputation. Some good suggestions to tweak the colour and saturation.

[Danny J Brown]

Grant - Just a fabulous image with the relaxed pose and the contrast with the bark of the tree. Super shot.

DB

[Dumay de Boulle]

Love the pose and eye detail...I would love to see this girl just once ( She is the most famous Leopard in the world:S3:)

[Rachel Hollander]

Grant - you've captured her beauty well. Great pose and detail, the tweaks to the color will take this to the next level.

TFS,
Rachel

[DanWalters]

Love the warm light on the face. The dark wood really brings attention to the eyes.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Lovely image Grant! I like the composition. I just don't have the time. Hope to visit Botswana next year. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[gail bisson]

This is simply lovely! The light on her face is superb.
Gail

[Steve Canuel]

Like the pose here, no indication from her that you're there. Also like the light, and the color contrast and texture of the tree trunk pillow.

[Grace Scalzo]

Grant, What a lovely image. She is so relaxed and beautiful. I can imagine this will look wonderful as a large print. Your composition is great, textures and colors add so much here.