Cheetah and cubs

[Hilary Hann]

This cheetah actually had 4 cubs but one was quite wayward and often seemed to be pouncing from behind bushes or wandering out of picture. So here is mum and 3 of her young cubs in Kitirua Conservancy next to Amboseli National Park. Taken just before 7am on an overcast day.

1DX; 200-400 with internal TC engaged @ 560mm; ISO1250: 1/500 @ f5.6. Beanbag

[Nancy Bell]

Wonderful look and details on the mom & great capture of the cub trying to get her attention! Moms everywhere could relate to this! Nice to have 2 more cubs in the image, with the visually stronger one on the outside to pull your eyes back into the family. I really like the curved tail and the white tip keeping attention to the center of the image. Wonderful backdrop of those tall softly blurred vertical grasses stretching evenly left to right.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Wow Hilary, great eye contact here, love to see the interaction, well done to capture this in difficult lighting conditions. Your processing is great, Mama Cheetah is so sharp and nice detail on her. I like the colour of the BG. Will look again on the big screen at home, just sneaked a peek while at work and wanted to congratulate you on this, superb moment captured!

Kind regards,

[Marc Mol]

Lovely family moment depicted here Hilary, understand light is at a premium, but would bring up the exp perhaps +.25- .50 just to lift the whole image.

This cheetah actually had 4 cubs but one was quite wayward and often seemed to be pouncing from behind bushes or wandering out of picture.

Isn't that always the case, there's always one who doesn't want to cooperate.
TFS

[Martin Dunn]

Great eye contact Hilary, the expression eyes like saucers comes to mind. For me it is the eyes that make or break most cheetah and leopard pics.
Apart from anything else I applaud the fact that you have resisted the temptation to saturate colour to compensate for the dull light.

[edwardselfe]

This is a lovely image and there's lots of detail and interest. I also thought that lifting the exposure would help, so I had a go, but found (probably as you did) that it doesn't work very well. However, it does need a little lift I think, so I lifted whites to +40 and think that there's a lot more life to it now. I also thought that you might lose a bit off the bottom. Hope you don't mind me RP.
Ed

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary, like the interaction and mom looking to camera.

Ed's RP is where it needs to go, even looking in Levels and a quick tweak to 241 before the whites blow, makes a huge difference, likewise making a Curves (Red) adjustment. Certainly I would have looked at a much higher ISO around 2500 to nail the action with the cub, the combo of this kit is awesome and IQ would have still be as good. Personally I would go for a tad less above on the OP, to me the loss of FG in Ed's RP is a little to much I feel.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Hilary - intense look from mom and nice interaction captured. I also felt the op was a bit dark and flat so for me, Ed's rp is the way to go. Just a couple of minor tweaks really lift the image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks everyone for your generous comments and advice. Lots for me to experiment with tomorrow.

Ed, don't mind you making the repost at all, thanks for taking the time.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Hilary, all has been said already above. I also vote for Ed's RP, that changed the image very positive.

Have a great weekend

Ciao
Anette

[Loi Nguyen]

Just back from a week of travel for business in Japan and China, all work and no wildlife. It must have been a thrill for you to see Mom and 4 cubs so relaxed next to you. Lovely family portrait with great details of Mom. Ed's RP brought more life to the image, but I'm with you and Steve on the comp. I took a while for me to see clearly the cub jumping on Mom, but it is just that I have lousy eyes. I might try to darken the back of the cub in Ed's RP a little bit to give it more form. Loi

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks again everyone. I've tweaked the whites and am much happier with the results. All my work since remodelling my office have been flat so I need to make some lighting adjustments.

Thank you for the cropping suggestions, however in this case I prefer my OP crop so have left it … but always happy to have another point of view or two, please don't be offended if I don't always agree.

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Hillary

Coming in bit late, sorry.

Love the comp and mother's eye contact, tail a bonus.

Pity about cub#2 behind grass, but that is wildlife photography..

Prefer Ed's RP,not so flat.

Nice moment captured!

Andre

[Morkel Erasmus]

Cute moment Hilary! Not much to add, loved the exposure boost Edward gave it.