Special sightings do not often last long, and in my case the leopard I was so lucky to notice looked at me for a few seconds and then dashed for the safety of tall grasses and bushes nearby. I rarely have such bad luck- it was overcast, my long lens was tucked away in a zipped bag behind the seat, we had to reverse to get into a decent position to shoot, to top it all I had no bean bag and no gimbal handy and the leopard was showing some signs of distress. I turned around (as much as one can turn while on the front seat of a vehicle) grabbed the lens (camera attached, thank goodness for that) and tried to hold it as steady as possible (don't know how much it weighs, 6 kg?). I had no time to put on VR, I would have had to rest the lens on the window frame to free one hand. I just shot. What really upset me was that CH did not work and I could not shoot frame after frame, I had to pause in between. I composed then shot a few times, the last frame shows the leopard jumping from the tree, and of course some tall grasses got in the way.
Enough excuses, after all I am happy to have seen this beautiful beast and he was truly awesome. Here is a B/W image of him, some IQ lost because I had to crop quite a bit. I cloned out branches and twigs, desaturated in LR, levels and curves to add a bit of life to what looked like a dull image otherwise. I am posting this because I believe you can help me improve this image- I will be away for a few days as of Wednesday next week but will be back with new energy and so kind to start afresh if that's what it takes. I really count on Morkel for some ideas here, his B/W images are outstanding and I am so kin to learn from him.
Wishing you all a lovely evening and a great week ahead,
Another super image of this beautiful guy. I don't notice much in the lack of IQ, in this or the color image. It does look like you have brightened the area around the face giving it a very very slight vignette which I really like. I do this frequently using a NIK filter but don't know how you did it, if even you did. Nice job on both now I'll let the pros at it.
Hi Gabriela, I can't comment too much as I'm away again, but overall it looks too contrasty and the blacks being quite dominant. I feel the subject lacks tone overall. Nice pose and the 'Y' of the tree works well, but you could crop a fraction off the top if you wish. I think in your PP of 'tweaking' by having a pure white BKG it has emphasised the jagged outline of the tree, plus if you have added any sharpening too?
Techs please!
Nikon D3S l 500mm l f/5 l 1/320sec l ISO800 l Spot meter
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
It's a nice pose you got here Gabriela. I agree with Steve, and also think some of the whites on the skin are clipped/blown, while there's strong halos around the tree and cat...?
Please post the unprocessed colour version, perhaps some of our members can have a crack at doing a conversion - good exercise for all!
Hi Gabriela - unfortunately I agree with Steve and Morkel. Great pose in the Y of the tree and eye contact so it's worth seeing what others may be able to come up with.
It's one of those situations that seems like it's amazing, but just never quite works! I still think you could get more out of this by developing some mid-tones. It's almost a monochrome (pure blacks and whites) image, which might work in some situations, but I don't think it does here. Perhaps it's just a good memory or maybe you can get something more from it. Here's my attempt if you don't mind.
PS - I had a situation like this once. Leopard in a tree - perfect morning sunshine, nice BG and no-one else around. I took about 1000 photos of different compositions, thinking they would be my best ever. When I got home, I saw that the light was absolutely directly in the leopard's face so there was no shadow or definition at all. He looked completely 'flat'. Had I noticed, or looked better at my camera screen, I would have moved the vehicle about 2m and that would have made all the difference. Moral - not all great sightings make great photos!
Hello dear friends, I hope you'll accept my apologies for forgetting the techs here and for replying so late to your comments. I did not have the time to do an RP yet my heartfelt thanks to you all for your positive criticism and also to Edward for his version of this BW leopard . Morkel-great idea, I will post the colour version as is and should any one like to "play" with my leopard, you are welcome!
this looks very nice with the Y. I agree with the others and their suggestions. I had a quick look into your color post. When I get a few minutes tomorrow I will give it a try
The Y is great
Amakhosi Leopard
Reply With Quote
my heartfelt thanks to you all for your positive criticism and also to Edward for his version of this BW leopard 
