It is said that over the past 100 years we have lost about ninety percent of the cheetah population, which used to be distributed across some forty countries in Africa and Asia. Unlike the rhino situation, the main reason for this is not poaching, but habitat destruction due to human encroachment. Consequently we are dealing with a lack of genetic variation which in turn makes the species very susceptible to disease. Protecting the remaining cheetah means conserving habitat, enforcing certain laws, educating people, also looking at tourism to ensure activities are conducted in a less intrusive manner.
I am fortunate to be allowed to spend time with a cheetah family in a rehabilitation centre. And it has been so far an amazing experience. I sit quietly for hours and watch them interact with each other, at times the youngsters take an interest in me or my equipment and start misbehaving a little (biting my tripod and camera bags) so I am really grateful mom tolerates my presence so well. She is not too fond of people from what I have seen, but that is perhaps a good thing. I do not touch the little ones, I even avoid direct eye contact with mom and especially when she comes close to investigate what is going on. The cubs are to be released in a private game reserve when old enough to take care of themselves. I try take as many images as I can, sometimes the weather does not cooperate and it is rather upsetting but I do my best to record their growing up stages. I would like to continue doing so until they are released, this is such a special story and it would be wonderful to see those youngsters return to the wild.
So here's a little cub for you. No chance to correct DoF. He suddenly ran towards me and I decided to check on mom's whereabouts rather than fiddle with my camera settings, was hoping she didn't think it was my fault...
Nikon D5
Nikon 70-200 F2.8 (@200mm)
ISO 2000
F8
1/1250s
Thank you so much for viewing, as well as commenting on my previous images.
Kind regards,
Last edited by Gabriela Plesea; 09-07-2017 at 11:56 AM.
Hi Gabriela - What a cutie and what an opportunity for you to photograph them as they grow up. You seem to have gone with a slightly different pp treatment here with more of a painterly effect and less contrast than your normal posts. I think it works. I agree with you on the dof but totally understand. I'm not sure about the square crop. You needed to go portrait and maybe back off on the zoom slightly. Looking forward to watching these guys grow.
Super cute, Gabriela. What a wonderful opportunity you have here to record these animals - and with great flair. I like this shot exactly the way it is, including the crop and DOF. I do think just having the eyes, nose and mouth in focus works here although I accept this may be unconventional. This is just a top shot from where I sit, lovely tones, great eyes and expression. We heard in Namibia that farmers are also responsible for a lot of cheetah deaths as they blame them for stock losses. There is an active campaign there to help farmers around this with practical on-farm assistance.
Hi Gabriela -- It must have been a fantastic experience all together. Just spending so much time with them must have taught you so many things about their behaviour and communication aspects. I would love to read your experience if you happen to pen it down sometime.
And what a cute specimen ! I liked the eye contact and the details coming in its face , cant do much abt the DOF but its still sharp where it mattered the most. The nose looks a bit pixelated, is it due to compression ?
And i would certainly like to see more images of these youngsters .
Rachel, my apologies re. exif, I took this with a 70-200 (not 700-200, I will edit that bit now). I shoot very little with this lens. Seems most images taken on the day have this unusual "painterly" look, especially when subject is in the shade, or semi-shade. I struggled a bit to process them as they looked odd somehow. It could be the green net that was hanging up in the trees to stop birds of prey from stealing those babies. It has been removed recently, so we will see what the next lot of images will look like. The crop is a 4x5. I have lots of fun frames, but I could not always avoid man-made elements so I won't share all of them:)
Glenn you are absolutely right about the farmers and in fact I forgot to mention this issue. You are well informed and obviously care about wildlife - this is wonderful, I wish there were more people like you! Indeed I am lucky to have opportunities like this from time to time. I obviously prefer to spend time with animals in the wild but those intimate moments with the cheetahs are truly special: I get to hear the faintest sounds when they communicate, to observe body language, I learn things that help me predict their behaviour in the wild and hopefully take better images.
Haseeb, the day those chaps are released I will be there, afterwards I plan to put together a rather long story sequence about the success of this project. The owners of the place have been extremely kind to me, I am allowed to go there whenever I want and spend as much time as I like with those animals. Unfortunately my time is rather limited due to work commitments, otherwise I would probably sleep next to the cheetahs if I could, LOL...You should hear them purr and miaow and see them play, they even climb trees...
Hope you all have a wonderful evening, thank you so much for kind comments and just taking the time to view,
The nose looks a bit pixelated, is it due to compression ?
Sorry Haseeb, I forgot to answer your question. I do not think the nose is "pixelated" in this instance, just a bit dry? Here's a close-up after a huge crop:)
Great capture Gabriela! Sadly so many animals suffer from habitat destruction due to human encroachment and deforestation. When I head to Peru later this month I am certain I will see habitat destruction due to clearing of land for agricultural purposes. Wonderful that you get to spend time with these Cheetahs...moments to cherish for sure. The large crop of the nose even works as an interesting comp...perhaps try such a close-up next time you visit them :)
Loving the cute pose here with good extracted detail and colour Gabriela, I'm also somewhat indifferent to this square crop, perhaps a 4;5 ratio?
Totally agree with you on those cheetah statistics, and have witnessed numbers dramatically decline myself in certain areas, and of the big 3 THE most endangered for sure.
Gabby,incredibly interesting the back story and also, especially, the notes on what might be done to helps cheetahs survive for the future generations. Gabby,the lack of genetic variation in cheetahs is something i've been aware of for maybe thirty/forty years. It was talked about in my wildlife books mum bought me as a child that i've already told you of. It's very interesting that you have mentioned this. I might dig them out later as my memory is surely flawed,but I remember something about all cheetahs being in the ballpark of98/99% identical,but didn't realise this was due to the catastrophic loss of population you have illustrated.
Your image is wonderful and moving ,as they so oft are I like the crop and have few issues with the DOF maybe that's my level of ability talking rather than what is right, I am unsure. I can't wait for more of this story to unfold and ,as you might guess,would find a chance to watch some cubs grow as you are, an unbelieveable incredible experience,please post more and yes i'll watch for the story sequence. Sorry I have had so little time of late to post in the story forum myself,i'm driven to get my tools and being me that will only come one way head down and graft. There is little else at the mo.
Maybe it's fatigue maybe I simply don't have the ability but the nuances pondered about the lens and that painterly look,I simply am failing to differentiate,it's simply an incredibly detailed beautiful portrait of a young cheetah that moves my soul
Can't wait for updates please do show more. I've spent eons watching animals trying to work out what is really going on in their heads,beyond the naturalists obsessions,these experiences are food for our souls.Ii'm sure this incredible experience will arm you for wild encounters,even if some of what one observes is almost lodged subliminally in one's head,i'm sure,nah I know this time spent will be of benefit to wild encounters.
Hi Gabriela, first question, albeit it doesn't really matter and petty, but which image is the correct one and which is flipped as the nose not match???
It's a really sweet image, but somehow it for me resembles more of a teddy bear rather than a Cheetah cub???? Like the offset gaze and the dappled light coming through the backdrop. I would look to opening up the shadows, the eyes then come to life and then bring some richness into the RHS BKG. Yes more doF would have been good, but that with hindsight, although this frame appears to so the cub still. Must have been lovely to work with these animals and a real treat.
Thank you all so much for kind comments, appreciated.
Steve, sorry to reply so late, I was under the impression I did get back to you. The OP has been flipped. The close-up is not processed, just wanted to show Haseeb the nose of this little one. And it does look like a teddy bear, LOL. I will follow your suggestions and rework this one, thank you so much for advice
Stu, more cheetah images coming up, some taken in the wild
And Andrew, hope you have a wonderful time in Peru, looking forward to see what you bring from this trip
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I like the crop and have few issues with the DOF maybe that's my level of ability talking rather than what is right, I am unsure. I can't wait for more of this story to unfold and ,as you might guess,would find a chance to watch some cubs grow as you are, an unbelieveable incredible experience,please post more and yes i'll watch for the story sequence. Sorry I have had so little time of late to post in the story forum myself,i'm driven to get my tools and being me that will only come one way head down and graft. There is little else at the mo.
