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Thread: Leopard Feeding on Tree

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    Default Leopard Feeding on Tree

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    Seeing Brendon's image inspired me to re-worked this image taken on the 2013 trip. It was at Sosian Ranch on the Laikipia plateau, Kenya. I first posted it on the Eagle to Learn Forum.

    The ranch manager had strung up a dead calf on the tree for the leopard. We saw him feeding for a good 20 min.

    I was inexperienced with spot light lit subject, so my techs were bad

    1DX
    500f4 II
    1/200
    f5.6 (forgot to shoot at F4)
    ISO-20,000 (should have shot at 6400)
    Beanbag on roof

    Cloned out a small string, cropped a little all around except top.

    Would like to get suggestions from you on the techs for next time. Also I just bought a flash, should I bet the Better Beamer for this?

    Thank you for your comments.

    Loi

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Loi, interesting techs, but IQ looks good at this 'compressed reduction' and limited colour space. I like the pose and the light looks about right from the spot. Might add some NR to the top, but you have a dark blue line creeping in on the LH trim edge.

    TFS
    Steve

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Loi - If I were you I would study Brendon's spot lit images for the proper techs. If you do add flash then I think you need to use -EV on the flash or else it is too strong. I did not use flash on my recent trip when shooting spot lit images. I agree with Steve on the need for NR in the urc. So is this a captive leopard or a wild one that the ranch lures in with the bait?

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Looks Good Loi, Colours look good and surprisingly reasonable detail for such a high ISO. Image is just a little flat in the whites and if it were mine i would remove the foliage above his head, as per in my RP below i also set a white point for the whites.

    The biggest mistake people make with spotlit images is they try to shoot to either their histogram or using their in camera light meter, that only results in disaster. Shooting at Night is the one time you can actually shooting according to the image you see on your screen, ignore everything else, if shooting in manual where you should for spotlight your light meter will indicate you are under exposing dramatically and your histogram will reflect this, the idea is to expose for just the spotlight and get everything else around as dark as possible. My technique is to set my ISO where i am happy, set my aperture and then just play with my speed according to how light or dark i want the image, leave the other settings alone.

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    Hi brendon, much appreciate the RP. I reduced highlights in LR5, that was the reason for the flatness. Your RP looks good.

    Even more useful is your tips regarding shooting at night. I will try it next time. You are absolutely correct, I used the histogram and avoid blinkies, but most of my images were too bright in the spot light and i had to cut back exposure or reduce highlights in post, which is a total waste of light!

    Hi Rachel, the carcass was used as bait, but the leopards were as wild as the Kenya night, not captive.

    I actually think the foliage on top adds more depth to the image...

    Thank you very much.

    Loi

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    Awesome image Loi, interesting techs and I must agree, I too have made mistakes in the past. Brendon, thanks for the tips for shooting at night in the spotlight.

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Loi , nice shot .
    Not a fan of this spotlight images , but works ok for me.
    Yes NR is in order on this one , look at my seals just posted , no luminance NR used at 20000 ISO .Just a matter of how to expose .
    Where are the blues coming from on LHS ?

    BTW - would love to be so close to a leopard .

    TFS Andreas

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Great image Loi, what a nice surprise-whew, you had this in your folders all along! Well cropped and presented, good detail there on the leopard and the colours are great too! I also like what Brendon did with his RP, thanks a bunch Brendon - we all learnt something from you today!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Nice effort here Loi, the colours & detail are quite good. I loved Sosian when under the old management of a few years ago, with great WD action.

    Quote Originally Posted by Brendon Cremer View Post
    My technique is to set my ISO where i am happy, set my aperture and then just play with my speed according to how light or dark i want the image, leave the other settings alone.
    Brendon is correct on tecnique & settings, one should also mention that a fast lens like an f/2.8 or bare minimum an f/4 is a must, my favourite is the 70-200 f/2.8.
    However I've found there are times when you just can't get a fast enough S/S, (depending on subject movement) and I like to use -EV of between -2 and -2.7. I also personally don't like to shoot above ISO 3200. And yes, as Brendon has mentioned, one needs to ignore their histogram.
    NO flash of course.
    Last edited by Marc Mol; 07-18-2014 at 02:20 PM.


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    Hi Andreas, the blue on the LHS was just my sloppy work with masking and cropping. Not worth re-posting, but I apologize for it. Loi

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    BPN Member Anette Mossbacher's Avatar
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    Hi Loi,

    very nice image with 20000 horse power behind
    Brendon gave you the details of the settings, just watch his posts in here with all he includes, that is such great help.

    Ciao
    Anette

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