The eyes have it, they say. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Whoever they are, they said it.
On our recent short visit to Singita in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in South Africa, we were fortunate to spend some quality time with an old male leopard called the "Camp Pan Male". He is estimated to be around 16 years old, which is very old for a male leopard (especially considering the amount of other males he's had to run into over the years).
Have a look at this photo.
What does it "speak" to you??
Think about it for a few seconds before reading on....
There's a very compelling story to this image - it was taken at the end of a very emotional sighting of him trying his best to feed on a kill he'd stolen from another leopard. His legs were wobbly, his hips looked cripple, and his teeth were worn down. He couldn't get into the very small tree that the kill was hoisted in. I will make the entire story the subject of a different post, because there's some good video footage that my wife caught of the event that would give you an idea of what went down.
Anyway, here he was lying in the grass after exerting all his energy to grab a bite or two...and as he longingly looked up at the kill he was unable to wrest free from the branch it was snuggled into, he looked forlorn...defeated. I was looking into the eyes of a dying leopard. He knew it. I knew it.
As of two weeks ago he is still alive, but his condition was pretty poor, and we were probably some of the last people to see this leopard alive...and that makes this image special to me.
Hi Morkel great story about this old unit leaving this planet after a long and i guess successful life , otherwise he would have not turn that old.
I quite like the low key effect of this frame and the conversion does work well . I just only wish for some more space for the eyes to look at on top , meaning more space for the eyes to wonder around . And maybe i would try to lower the contrast in the left corners for more emphasize on the Leopard.
But it does look quite good s posted and it is just my personal view .
Hi Morkel - The Camp Pan male is legendary and from the images I have seen was powerful and majestic in his prime. We saw him a year ago on our first morning at Londolozi and it certainly looked like his best years were behind him. Somehow I always envisioned him going out in one last battle but it is sad to see his demise no matter the manner. There is wisdom in his eyes and somehow he doesn't look as scarred as I remember him. I find the dark lower right corner drawing my eye slightly.
Hi Morkel -- That dominant eye tells all the story ! One strong individual he had been in his lifetime to survive for so along in current scenario is a big achievement ! you captured the true feel of the moment and the conversion works very well here !! that blade of grass in the upper LHS entering the frame is a bit distracting though. TFS !
Love the forlorn and soulful look here Morkel, with a subtle mono conversion that does this justice, I too wish for a little looking room above, but not a huge deal.
I first saw this Camp pan male in his prime back in 2007, and he was majestic, can't believe that was now 8 years ago, this old gentleman has had one fine innings. .......soon to RIP.
I would name this image " Mehlo Mdala" - the old eyes, the eyes of the old man...
I am always very sad to see a majestic animal that was once king of his castle in the weak state, his former glory and respect stolen by a younger, stonger advisary.
This image with the narrative is very powerful, emotional..
Agree to have more space on top, leading us into his longing, hunger...
Those gaunt eyes say it all Morkel, and your narrative forces me to look twice - as you already know, I am someone who loves texts as much as I love frames, and never in a hurry when it comes to something so special.
I enjoyed reading your story as well as viewing the lovely shape of this old leopard's face in the shadows...still contemplating about all you wish to make us see, as in "intention versus interpretation". Just like yourself, I would probably find a thousand words to describe the subject as well as the moment, but your image speaks for itself and produces some powerful emotions - I love your creativity and ability to appeal to our senses, this is evocative and emotional to a great extent.
Viewing this frame, the word "obscure" comes to mind - a majestic old leopard, hidden in deep foliage, weakened by age yet somewhat strong, for he is still able to conceal himself from the world. Beast versus beast, beast versus human...I am now wondering what is he looking at so intently (is it the kill in the tree above?), and has he noticed the human presence nearby? He only seems concerned with his own survival, if only for another day...maybe reading the signs of nature, Morkel? A mystery how he stole the kill from the other, younger male, and I detect some confidence (if only a tad) from him for not making a mistake...Morkel, you think your leopard knew this could have been his last meal?
There are those images I do not wish to critique on technical stuff - this is one of them. You must have your reasons why you composed in this way, so I won't even go there. Your image and the story behind it appeal to me, so well done my friend, you struck the right chord. I enjoyed this tremendously, as I am typing now I raise my eyes to see this large leopard print on my study wall, a powerful male coming out of the darkness... I'll go put off the lights now and switch off computers, hopefully I will dream of leopards tonight...
Definitely a soulful look and perhaps a sense of impending doom?
When you get this close to an animal as majestic as this, I feel I want to see every detail, depth, tone etc and the rather heavy, stylised approach seems to be choking this and so the expression is the more powerful element in this picture, although without the words would it still have the impact & presence I wonder????
Hi Mork, an emotional story, and after reading it and going back to the image, the eyes mean a lot, especially as we can clearly see he's gazing up into the tree.