The Handsome cheetah

[RakeshDhareshwar]

I simply adore this cat . Beauty and Speed Personified . While I missed witnessing their hunt , I was lucky to sight these guys after that . ( see the big tummy).

Camera : Canon 1D Mk III
Lens : 600mm f4 IS
Aperture : f 7.1
Shutters : 1/100
Speed : ISO 2000
Compensation : +1/3rd EV

Cheers,
Rakesh

[Ken Watkins]

OK so what is more beautiful then a Cheetah?

This one looks a little wet and quite full, I have seen bigger bellies.

The most important part of this image is that you have one and a half eyes.

I wonder if a slight boost in contrast might just make it pop, I am presuming it was a little dull?

[gail bisson]

The cheetah is the one animal that I did not see during my travels so I am very envious of this shot! The BG is a bit noisy. I wonder why your ISO is so high with your aperture at 7.1? I like the wet fur and wonder why it is wet. Do you know?
Gail

[Marc Mol]

Love the pose and the wet look here Rakesh, and too wonder why you chose f/7 as your aperture?
TFS

[RakeshDhareshwar]

@ Gail and Marc : I shot this around 6.30 in the evening , and it was raining heavily . The streaks of rain are still visible in the BG . Since the cheetah approcahed me quite close , I upped the aperture to ensure that the whole animal was in focus . In hind sight , a wider aperture would still have got me the whole cheetah in focus , I guess .
Some other images around the same time here http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/91634-Drying-up-Cheetah-Style?highlight= , http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/88590-Cheetahs-in-the-rain?highlight=

Cheers,

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice view of this wet cheetah, Rakesh...
I wouldn't even have flinched if you had less eye contact than you have here, as it clearly is not noticing you but gazing intently to the left.
High ISO and rainy weather well handled.

[Harshad Barve]

RD , well handled image indeed
TFS

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Great sighting Rakesh, like the wet look and comp TFS:cheers:

[Rachel Hollander]

Nice wet look, full belly and I too like the comp.

TFS,
Rachel

[PRABIR BHATTACHARYYA]

Rakesh, the clarity is very good despite the rain and low light.
Liked the shot very much!