We spent a lot of time with this young Vomba male leopard from very early morning. This is taken from when he decided to sit high on top of an old termite mound where his father had been a few days prior. Having paced, surveyed and finally laid down, he then decided to look directly down to camera, little did he know a warthog was in residence in the termite mound below, or did he...?
Steve
Subject: Young leopard looking direct to camera (Panthera pardus)
Location: SA
Camera: Canon 1DX
Lens: 200-400f/4 HH
Exposure: 1/320s at f/8 ISO400
Original format: Portrait, very slight crop.
Hi Steve - He was definitely one of my favorite subjects from our trip and one of the more cooperative, even if he wasn't the most strategic or successful hunter. I like the slightly cocked head and the vertical comp. Techs, detail and dof all up to your usual standard. As with my own similar images, I just wish that one blade of grass wasn't across the ear but such is nature.
Hi Rachel, eyes are clear, face is clear, the key elements are fine IMHO, but you will always get that lone piece of grass creeping in somewhere , it's called 'sods law'.
I did have a knife which you would have been more than welcome to trim the offending stalk with and plenty of space on the cards to capture the action if you felt the urge to clip away.
perfect stare down to the camera Steve! The comp works well and awesome clarity! Did you try adjusting the WB to make the image slightly warmer, or maybe just a warming filter to the midtones?
Last edited by Rudi van den Heever; 10-16-2014 at 11:35 AM.
Thanks folks, this young male was indeed in fine condition, very accommodating and in places enjoyed the attention, I think?
Rudi, personally I'm keen to keep colours to a minimum and as close to both my recollection and my own balance of colour, if that makes sense. I agree it could go warmer, but unless you are specific, it tends to be Global (again, albeit perhaps subtle) and therefore will affect everything else if you are not careful. You would be surprised at the colour I remove or reduce from the RAW that Canon throw in, subtle perhaps, however some like the increase in Saturation for example, however I keep to 'au naturel' with no additions, as I feel you can then start, with a blank canvas, and without the 'Manufacture or a Third Party' pushing the direction, look & feel. If I get it wrong then there is only one person to blame!
Nice expression on this one's face, almost seems like he's saying "Really? Another picture?" A little cooler than most leopard pics posted here, colors still look natural.
Nice pose, killer POV and great quality as usual, Steve.
I would be tempted to go a tad darker overall, but a taste thing for sure.
"sod's law" - gotta remember that
The 'Gaze'
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, it's called 'sods law'. 
The comp works well and awesome clarity! Did you try adjusting the WB to make the image slightly warmer, or maybe just a warming filter to the midtones?
