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Thread: Stumped by a Cheetah

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Default Stumped by a Cheetah

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    Another awesome experience from my Zimanga trip - following cheetahs on foot. This male cheetah is one of many wild but habituated cheetahs on Zimanga. They hunt and kill for themselves every day.
    This was taken crouching close to him in the morning as he was picking up the scent of a rival male on this stump. The giraffe was a bonus.

    Techs:
    Nikon D3s
    Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR @ 112mm
    f4.0 | 1/1000 SS | ISO-200
    Morkel Erasmus

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Like the scene and the dual species capture but that isn't exactly the most graceful pose I've seen from a cheetah . Still, it's something different and techs look good as usual.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel - nice scene and composition. I like the bit of water in the bg and the giraffe is a bonus. It seems a bit bright to me so if it were mine I would apply a luminosity mask to the highlights at about 40% or so.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel, agree with Rachel's observations here, conditions do look tough based on the Cheetah. Really like the larger 'habitat' aspect of the image.

    TFS
    Steve

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    thanks folks - I actually ran a lumo mask on it last night and felt it looked muddied even at 30% opacity, so I let it be (already ran one round here).

    this cheetah is actually in great condition (save for the tailtip which he lost years ago in a scrap), he had been sleeping on his side so his coat looks a bit ruffled on the view we see here...
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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Love the title and the pose. Had you moved five meters to your right the giraffe would have been to the right of the lower protruding stump with lots more separation from the cat and much better compositional balance.
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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Morkel , like this one .
    Nice colors and the two animals in the frame . The stumped Cheetah is working great. Agree with Artie about the composition , but easy to say sitting in a comfy chair . I am pretty sure i would not have seen this in the field .
    I also agree with Rachel about the HL , i tried it ........ and it looks better for me.
    HL selection with TK mask , multiply layer at 100 % ; apply image to mask (screen mode) ; new levels adjustment set to overlay , clip the layer to the underlying layer . Make group from the two layers, paint in the effect just to the cheetah. Duplicate the BKG layer and move it to the top of the layer stack , set to " Color" to get the original colors back .

    TFS Andreas

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Love the title and the pose. Had you moved five meters to your right the giraffe would have been to the right of the lower protruding stump with lots more separation from the cat and much better compositional balance.
    I agree about the placement/positioning, Artie.
    First off, when shooting big cats on foot I tend to get into a position and hold that especially if the cat is looking my way (and he was pretty much looking mostly at me after getting into this position)...
    Secondly - moving to the right would have made the fact that the giraffe was standing on the road a bit more obvious
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    Quote Originally Posted by Morkel Erasmus View Post
    I agree about the placement/positioning, Artie.
    First off, when shooting big cats on foot I tend to get into a position and hold that especially if the cat is looking my way (and he was pretty much looking mostly at me after getting into this position)...
    Secondly - moving to the right would have made the fact that the giraffe was standing on the road a bit more obvious
    ,

    With regards to first off, then you did not choose the best perspective when you chose your position :).

    With regards to secondly, I believe that you are wrong. Why? If you moved to your right as I suggested then the taller grass just to the right of the low stump would have obscured the road more not less :) But that would have obscured the giraffes and lower legs as well. Maybe a bit more to the right would have been perfect.

    Lastly, as I mentioned somewhere else recently all critiques are offered based on the assumption that all things are equal. By that I mean folks looking at an image do not know the fine points of a given situation and they cannot know what there is just outside of the frame :)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    ,

    With regards to first off, then you did not choose the best perspective when you chose your position :).

    With regards to secondly, I believe that you are wrong. Why? If you moved to your right as I suggested then the taller grass just to the right of the low stump would have obscured the road more not less :) But that would have obscured the giraffes and lower legs as well. Maybe a bit more to the right would have been perfect.

    Lastly, as I mentioned somewhere else recently all critiques are offered based on the assumption that all things are equal. By that I mean folks looking at an image do not know the fine points of a given situation and they cannot know what there is just outside of the frame :)
    mmmm...I stand corrected then .
    That was my assessment in the field, at least...heat of the moment
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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    I can agree on that. Sometimes I get so excited in the field that my fingers fumble with the controls and I am not capable of thinking clearly. I am actually glad that that still happens.....
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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Dear Morkel,

    I agree wholeheartedly with the comments above (regarding positioning when shooting), given that - like yourself - I mainly get to photograph animals in the wild and I really have to try and keep my cool and not let the excitement get the better of me. The thoughts "had I moved to the right" or " had I waited until my subject got there" occur ever so often, and I punish myself for not anticipating everything, for not seeing all that bothers me later when processing.

    Well, as long as the sun is behind me and the subject makes a little eye contact I am usually quite happy with the outcome - I am certainly happy with what you got here, considering the fact that you were on foot and your subject might have decided any moment that it was time to walk away, so well done in capturing this image, love the fact that the patterns on the cheetah and the giraffe complement each other (there is something sweet and "spotty" about your subjects and I love it), nice eye contact with the cheetah, very well done! Great exposure and I love the composition, beautiful light, and the giraffe in the BG a great bonus-great work my friend!!!

    Hope to see you at Zimanga next time

    Have a fabulous week-end,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Learning might be a better way to go than punishing oneself :).
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    I am learning Sir Arthur, but "punishment" has been a great part of it, I am afraid...Like, deleting so many images dear to my heart but not worth processing. A painful but necessary process...I am trying not to repeat the same mistakes. Looking back at some images taken and processed some time ago, I think I am improving. Then there are some special people on BPN whom I feel I have to thank again and again, Morkel is one of them, always there to help and very constructive with his criticism - thank you Morkel!
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    :) You might want to go here: www.theWORK.com She teaches that pain and happiness and sadness and self punishment are choices :) You can always be happy and still improve as a photographer....
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Thank you kindly, Artie Been to the website...I do need a bit of "pain" when it comes to photography, it brings out the "arty" side in me.

    Morkel certainly has an arty side, this image is just one example... love your work Morkel - once again, well done!!!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    YAW. I try to show both my Artie side and my artsy side :)
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Plenty of both, and often an inspiration, Sir Arthur

    Sorry Morkel, we hijacked your thread here...Have a great evening, and would like to see some more Zimanga images
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
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    I really like this image - an interesting combo. Giraffes can always be relied on to show interest in predators. I like the balance of the shot.
    Ed

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