I have been tracking this particular cat for some time now and we both were startled by each other and thankfully this time I had the camera with me.
Taken Just before the Sunset against the light handheld. I would have loved to have gotten down to the ground level after securing the first few record shots. But the moment I moved to kneel down the cat just ran away. BUt He is still around I hope to get a better picture soon.
Nice capture! Bobcats are elusive. I like the comp and the light coming from behind the cat made this a difficult shot. Is it a crop and if so, how much? I'd expect to see more details and sharpness on the cat. Perhaps you can try sharpen it more. The eyes look a bit too bright to me. Did you lighten up the eye? I wish to be able to see the pupils. TFS. Loi
Very cool picture. Love the stance of the cat, the neat division between track and bush which doesn't 'cut through' the cat anywhere, and the very alert look on its face. Great idea.
Colours look a little bright - was it really just before sunset as the green bushes are very well lit? The light looks softer on the cat than on the bushes behind. There's also a blue cast on the stones of the track in the foreground. Try reduce WB quite a bit, then reduce blues saturation, and perhaps lift the midtones on the cat only. What about a luminosity layer to control the brightest whites areas of the bushes in the background?
Worth working on as it's a great image - it might look good as a B&W too but you'd have to work on making those cryptic markings on the cat stand out against the bushes.
THanks Loi and ED, Those are very good suggestions, I think I lost the chance to make a great quality image in a hurry. Didnt expect to bump into him, Fired off first few record shots in a burst and the that was it. he was gone... I hope I get a better one soon.
Good job in tracking this elusive cat! I presume this is close to where you live, so you'll have more opportunities as the animal gets used to you being on its tail.
It's a nice record shot, but if viewed as a potential "keeper" it's got a bit of a loss of overall quality and crispness. How big a crop is this?
I found when I shot with a 7D that I needed to use more SS than I normally would because of the sensor's sensitivity to shake etc. At 700mm I would advise you try and stick to 1/1000 SS at least...
You can tone down overall brightness and vibrance using a luminosity mask. Looking forward to more of this beauty!
Hi Amol - it's great to see a bobcat so congrats on the sighting. You've gotten excellent advice above for improving the image both in the field and in pp. I would also apply some NR selectively to the bg.
It would be great if you would participate in other threads too. We encourage people to post in 5 other threads when posting their own image. It helps us to foster a sense of community and it's the best way to learn. The comments don't have to be technical, just tell us what you like or don't like about the image.
TFS and hoping to see more of your wildlife images,
Rachel
This is the first time I see a Bobcat, thank you for sharing this image!
Is this a big crop? If so, perhaps you could try crop less in order to improve IQ. Great angle and lovely pose from your subject.
Morkel has given you good advice on improving this image, would love to see a repost