Canon 1 D MK iv, Canon F2.8L IS USM Mk iv
ISO800, F2.8, 1/800sec,
WIth family on my birthday and we came across this cheetah which had caught an impala and was in the process of killing it through a throat hold. It eas about 20mins before dusk. It was a great sighting and a pair of Spotted eagle owls joined us as the light played out.
ACR basics
PSE 9
I cropped this right at the end of PP work. I cut off some of the impala's bottom feet which was difficult to see and as there was a annoying bush to the right of frame. I felt that it was not necessary to add canvas to the bottom.
I sharpened and did adjustment layers for levels etc.
Sized and SFW.
I may have lightened the animal too much as there was a lack of good light.
Appreciate any C & C. Thanks
Hi Carl - I like the look-back pose and the comp with the cheetah off-center and the impala head/horns visible to the left. I think you did try to lighten the cheetah a bit too much. If PSE has curves, you might try adding some contrast through a curves adjustment applied selectively to the cheetah and impala. Also I would apply a bit more sharpening selectively to the cheetah and a round of noise reduction (NR) to the bg. Finally, the image does not have an embedded color profile so there is a shift when displayed on the web. Check out the sticky at the top of the Wildlife Forum on saving for web and making sure your images are sRGB for the web. I would do a repost but I am having issues posting images right now. Shout if you need more specifics about the adjustments I am suggesting. Looking forward to seeing more from you.
I'm not "big" on kill images.... but this image totally works for me without being overly graphic. Focus on the Cheetah (face +) is excellent, with the Impala slightly OOF...very well done. (Never having seen a Cheetah in "real life", can't tell if it's overlightened. ) As you mentioned and/or implied, probably good to not include the Impala's feet or "stuff" to the right that you cropped. "Look back" from the Cheetah is incredible. Hope to see more, too!
Hi Rachel - I tried your suggestions as far as I could. Hope it is better.
As to your reference to sRGB I have used that and your the second person to comment on this. On PSE 9 in the menu bar - Images it has the Convert to profile options and mine is greyed out. I understand this to mean that it is being saved on this profile. Any assistance here would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Carl - the rp still does not have an embedded profile. Under the convert profile in PSE try removing the color profile and then apply the sRGB profile. I think the face still needs additional sharpening.
Carl- I like the original post. Love the subtle blood smear on the face! Love the "look and feel" too. I think the soft lighting has a lot to do with it. The repost is too dark on my calibrated monitor.
Dealing with light like this can be tricky, as you've discovered.
You mention that it was 20 minutes before dusk. That being the case, your OP light levels seem appropriate, and to my eye, the cat does not appear to be too bright.
Coming from a journalism background, I always strive to represent the scene as accurately as I can recall it was, when I saw it in real life. Unless, of course, I'm off on some whimsical artistic tangent.
I fully agree with your choices and rationale on the crop and image composition. It really is quite strong, with the cheetah turning back your way.
As mentioned by Rachel, judicious sharpening of the head and upper body would add to the image's impact.
I think I have dealt with the background noise by using the Neat plugin. I am having problems trying to sharpen with USM on PSE. Not quite sure I know why. I have the Nik collection but PSE keeps crashing when I hit apply. The effect of the sharpening that it produces is excellent to me and then it crashes.
Rachel I have tried everything that I could so not sure if the color profile is correct now.
After spending some time away from this I think the image is where I am quite happy with it but feel sharpening letting me down.
Your second repost nailed it and it's a great image. Good composition. Sorry, can't help you with why the nik sharpener is causing PS to shut down as I use it all the time without the problems.
Cheetah kill
