February 2016. This young leopard female is young and inexperienced so Mom still does the hunting. Masego has not yet mastered the skill to kill and that is not really her fault - the springbok herds have been scarce lately...
...this of course was a couple of months back when we had the privilege of observing her over a period of three days... Lots happened since and we have been able to follow her progress on a FB page dedicated to the leopard project in the Kalahari. It seems mom Miera has left Masego to fend for herself, she has struggled a bit at first and at some point looked quite thin and haggard, she does seem a lot stronger nowadays. Masego manages to survive by killing smaller prey like wild cats and jackals and even birds and squirrels. I sincerely hope she will make it.
Image taken at H 12:07 in relatively poor lighting conditions, slightly overcast and a large tree threw some deep shadows which from time to time I managed to avoid. Getting the timing right was crucial, subject was moving constantly from light to shade and a fallen branch got in the way. I had to stick to my camera settings because of the uncomfortable position I was in, no support as I removed the bean bag for a better POV. One of my most challenging photographic opportunities ever, still a great sighting, I might have better images in this folder which I will post as soon as I get to them:)
Nikon D4
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 1600
F7.1
1/1600s
PS The green tinge on the lower lip and tongue is due to a reflection from the (very) green grass below - decided not to remove it as it makes the tongue look a bit like a leaf, which I quite like. 50% crop. BG is a tree trunk and some grass at the bottom, reduced saturation to help the subject stand out more.
Hi Gabriela - Techs, dof, sharpness and details all look good. Looks like she is a light colored leopard. Hopefully she will learn to hunt bigger meals rather than just appetizers. Did you blend the grass/branch coming in at an angle from the lhs? It looks a little sloppy so if you did not, perhaps do so?
Hi Gabriela -- Excellent portrait , loved the flick of the tongue and thanks for explaining the cause for greenish colour on the same, not a deal breaker . Nicely framed with lovely details and sharpness . I agree with Rachel's observation on that grass or branch on the lhs , acts like a distracting element , easy fix though .
A lovely side-on portrait of this girl, Gabriela.
She has not been doing well of late and I hope she can learn to catch bigger prey with more regularity soon!
All good for me here, perhaps softening BG textures through selective use of the clarity brush can make her pop even more.
Hi Gaby, I like the soft light from the overcast conditions, and overall, great IQ in those conditions. Good DOF and detail on her coat, and I do like the show of her whiskers. I like how she is separated from the BG. Well captured.
I am delighted with your comments, thank you. Masego is special to me, I have had very few opportunities to be so close to a leopard and this little one crept into my heart. Observing her failures and successes deepened my respect for the species, it also made me reflect upon its struggle to survive in a harsh environment like the Kalahari.
Going back to the image, what looks like branches in the BG are in fact pieces of bark coming loose from a tree trunk. I did notice them yet their presence did not bother me - they are part of an environment I am so familiar with, to my mind they belong there:) So apart from reducing saturation on the more prominent bits of bark I did nothing to the BG. I do understand some of you find those areas a bit distracting so I did my best to diminish them, hope my RP addresses this issue to some degree.
Once again, thank you so much for your time to view and honest critique, appreciated
Love the little bits of character in this; the curled tongue of course, the turn of the ear, those long whiskers, and even the lowered eyes! She is thinking. Lovely detail in her fur. And the bkgd is nicely blurred.