Tommy's final moments

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

It was spectacular to see the cheetah stalk & then successfully hunt down the Tommy at Masai Mara. It all happened in seconds and though I wish I had the predator & prey larger in the frame, this was the best i could with the 5D III & 700mm FL. Just when the tommy was taken down a WB came in the way & prevented me from getting the take-down. I though it works for the theme.
1/1600
f/6.3
ISO 3200

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Sanjeev, a sad encounter, but something spectacular to watch and witness, the Cheetah has to eat and it's the way of life in the bush. I like the posture of the Cheetah & Tommy, plus the crop works, not sure about the lonesome Wildebeest . Personally I'm not sure on the overall colour, the WB looks a bit off, but you were there. Next time if you are closer then you want a much faster SS to really freeze the action, but choose your moment when to press that shutter.

TFS
Steve

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Sanjeev - What a thrilling sighting. I would go with a very thin pano to emphasize the action, cropping everything above the line of bushes off. The colors still look a bit too magenta to me.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev you got lucky with the scene to witness this ....
I think you did well with the AF tracking in this one ....i think very difficult to keep the AF on one of the subjects , being that small in the frame .
The environment is not ideal to get a decent overall look , but this is about the action and not the nice scenery so not a big deal .
I agree with Rachel and Steve that the colors are looking a bit off ....
TFS Andreas

[Alex Becker]

Hi Sanjeev, a tough scene to witness but something special. I agree with the above that the colors seem a bit off and that a pano crop would work to highlight the action as well as remove the stray buffalo on top. I actually like the small in frame here though -- something about the dirt mounds adds some depth I feel. TFS

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Sanjeev! I have been roaming around the Kalahari for some ten years and still haven't got a decent image of a cheetah chase... I witnessed quite a few up close but it all happened too fast...I did capture one in 2009 but with my skills and poor equipment at the time, you will never get to see it

So yes, I enjoyed viewing your image, very much. It is a special sighting you will probably never forget, and even though the subjects are quite small in the frame I still think it's awesome.

I do understand why you left the Wildebeest in, his presence helped you create a Theme image and somehow adds a degree of interest to the overall scene (I wonder whether he just heard the commotion or was able to see past those bushes?). His placement in the frame might not work so well from the compositional point of view, but I still like to see him:)

In terms of colour I do agree with comments above. It might have been overcast at the time but I would like a bit of warmth, or vibrance.

I would not call this a "fun image" but it has been an exciting one to view, thank you so much for sharing. Very interested to know whether you managed more frames at this sighting, I would love to see if you have. How about a Story Sequence, if not too much work?

Kind regards,

[haseeb badar]

Hi Sanjeev -- I dont know how did i missed this one , wont go on the colours and all , but indeed a thrilling encounter and well captured a tighter pano version would have been an improvement of sorts.

TFS !