This is a very recent (local) sighting I would like to share, and I admit to have tried a few PP versions before this post. There's a version with a blue sky, one with a pink sky, a B/W, and then there's this simple one I decided to share tonight. Somehow I felt the focus should be on the subject rather than the environment, so I left the sky as it was, kind of colourless. This image was taken last Saturday afternoon, it was overcast and cold, my partner and I were invited to spend the week-end at a private Game Reserve and I spotted this male leopard only minutes after passing the gate. Had no hopes of seeing a leopard, they are elusive and hardly ever seen during day time; we were not prepared to shoot and in fact the cameras were safely tucked in their boxes, save for my 500 which was lying in its bag behind my seat. It took me a few seconds to realise what I have just seen, I grabbed my partner's arm and told him to reverse-he did so, and there he was-up in a tree and ready to run away-a large male leopard. I cannot describe my joy! I quickly turned around, picked up the camera and shot a few frames without even changing my settings. Then a few more frames as the leopard stands up and leaps from the tree into the high grass, unfortunately some of the images are not good enough and I will have to delete them. No bean bag or other support, all hand held, and no VR (I had no chance to take care of that), ISO a bit low for the conditions and F-stop barely enough.
I love leopards and have very few images of them, therefore I made an effort to work on some of those images. Feel free to give a critique or opinion, even a mere suggestion whether technical or otherwise-I really appreciate your input.
Gabriela, is it a full frame? I find the white sky competes with the dark tree and leopard for my attention. The leopard is looking at you and sharp where it counts. If you can crop tighter, I think it will show the leopard better. Loi
Gabriela, this has the makings of a really nice image, detail looks good and the eye contact together with the pose is just great. Comp wise i feel the leopard is a little central, so may look a cropping from the top to lift the leopard a little. This colour version with the blown out sky is not really working for me im sorry to say, as you have said you have one with a blue sky and then a black and white, for me this image just screams, nice punchy colours or B&W. Would love to see the others sometime. Looking forward to see what others have to say.
Gabriela, the RP looks great. The blue sky complements the leopard well and does not distract like the original white sky. Your blue looks pretty nice. Did you paint the sky with the color or use other adjustments? Thanks. Loi
Hi Gabriela - The comp of the rp is an improvement and the rp also looks a bit sharper. Nice eye contact. Whether or not to add a blue sky where one was not present is a personal decision for the photographer. I appreciate that you posted the original and disclosed the addition of the blue sky. I'd like to see the b&w as well.
Loi-thank you-I painted with a very soft brush a light blue and then saturated a bit until the colour was close to what I wanted
Rachel, I have completed a B/W on this leopard, it is not exactly the same image so I will have to start a new thread. None of the images taken of this leopard were very sharp, I am struggling when I crop too much because I lose IQ. Been wondering whether to post the B/W or redo it, the BG was so bright that I had to reduce the brightness on my screen so I could do the PP work I made some changes to the BG but not too happy with the result. I am afraid to post
...On the other hand, I am having so much fun on this website...the thought of going to work tomorrow is killing me
Hi Gabriela - Never be afraid to post. It's how we all learn from each other. It is more than ok to post an image you are not sure about and say so in the intro and ask for suggestions or thoughts.
That image is "over the top" as Robert would say. At least to me, you did well with such little time and I love the RP. Sky color does not matter to me either way.
Hi Gabriela, good to see you posted it. Regarding the RP I would back off on the 'blue' it needs to be more 'subtle', a fine balance yes, but because of the nature of the image it needs to look right.
I can't say any more.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Hi Gabriela, the crop is indeed a great improvement and i do like the blue bg, however i agree with steve you need to back it off a little and there is a slight halo around the tree where you have painted in the blue, backing off on the blue might help this too. Will take a look at the B&W just now as im sure thats the way to go with this.
Late to this one, but I did have a peek when you fist posted (just didn't have time to critique at that moment).
The RP is an improvement, but pull back on the blue some. I personally never drop in skies in colour images but each to his own as Rachel pointed out.
I'd like to see a B&W as well...and I fully appreciate grabbing snaps of a quick special sighting without giving proper consideration for settings. Always take out the cameras before you drive through the game reserve gate!
For me, it has to be a black and white, and Morkel's looks good to me. I would probably darken the tree a little more so that the leopard stands out better, but that's just me. He is a big boy!
Ed
Morkel's version looks good to me too! Thank you Morkel, and thank you all so much for your comments and feedback, I truly appreciate it.
I think I prefer the BW to the colour version, but I will do an RP soon with a correction on the sky.
And sorry to reply so late, I do pop in to BPN (on my laptop) during the day but I can only participate in the evenings. It is often quite hectic at work and although I try to reply or comment on an image, I often do not get to finish it. Will be away for a few days so no PP work for me but I'll be checking your new posts every evening
Before I work again on a B/W version of this image, I tried to find a softer and more natural look for the sky. I know the tree edges are a bit rough right now but did not have the time to work on that, will be back next week with a new RP.
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I made some changes to the BG but not too happy with the result. I am afraid to post
...the thought of going to work tomorrow is killing me
