Masai Mara cheetah
The sun was below the ridge, soft fading light when I captured this last month in the Masai Mara.
Canon 1DXII and 400/2.8II supported by the vehicle.
f4, 1/500, ISO1600, gentle processing in LR. Cropped a small amount to de-emphasize the kill a bit.
The background is not a distant blur, but I like the relative uniformity of color and the long blowing grass - interested in critique as to if this works. Could maybe brighten the eyes a little.
Greg
Hello Greg,
Thank you so much for sharing this special sighting with us
I like the eye contact here, a lot. Good thinking in terms of cropping out part of the kill, although if you have the whole impala in the frame (was it an impala?) it might make for an interesting scene. Sharpness is good, I just feel you could go back on contrast a little, blacks (nose and mouth especially) a bit chocked and not enough detail there.
What profile did you use for camera calibration in LR? I use "camera flat" or "camera neutral". When it comes to contrast and clarity in LR, this is where you must really be gentle...I actually never touch contrast.
I played a bit with WB here (in LR) and also warmed the image a bit. There was also a slight blue cast which I removed in PSCC.
1/500s barely enough, try in the future to aim for higher SS if possible?
I too like the vegetation and BG here, and the cheetah stands out really nicely
Kind regards,
Gabriela Plesea
Greg, nice work capturing this cheetah with kill. Your composition works well but I'm inclined to agree with Gabriela about the lighting adjustments. I think her repost is a substantial improvement... although it looks like Gabriela has changed WB/colour balance and I'm less sure about that. Your OP looks a bit dull in terms of tone. Overall still a very nice frame and one I wish was mine.
Gabriela, I do like your repost! I would say that my post was probably more true to my memory of the light, but a lesson to me is that it is more important to have a vibrant image to capture an independent viewer than to be absolutely realistic.
The profile I used was Camera Standard. I did very little to the overall image, but clarity, sharpness and a little contrast with the adjustment brush on the cheetah, a little extra brightness on the eyes. But I will experiment with the other profiles. And keep an eye on the contrast.
Your comment on the shutter speed is also noted. I would say that my normal starting point is something like f6.3 1/3200 ISO auto, and I see what I have to do from there. With this particular image the sun was setting behind the ridge, I didn't want to go larger aperture given my close proximity to get enough DOF for at least the eyes and nose, so I had gone to 1/500 as the light faded, as slow as I was comfortable with given her movement. After this my ISO was going higher.
Here to learn, appreciate the feedback. I have a few others from this interaction, I work on processing and posting another.
Greg
Hi Greg, Gabriela is going in the right direction in terms of colour, however if your image was in flat low light then going cooler (more blue) is perhaps more in keeping with your recollection and time of day.
Be careful it does not look unnaturala little extra brightness on the eyes
For me the DoF is too shallow in relation to the posting, the closer the subject the more DoF you require Greg, if you open the file in PS and go for Info it will tell you the subject distance, it would b good to know. I agree on keeping a faster SS, but 1/3200 is too high unless it's for BIF. I would work around f/5.6 1/2000 auto ISO as a starting point, but all subject to the conditions.I would say that my normal starting point is something like f6.3 1/3200 ISO auto
High ISO is not an issue with the 1DX MK2 check out the thread Andreas posted
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...-at-51-200-Iso
I quite like the framing, but don't worry about showing part of a kill, it's part of the life cycle and often plays a part in the original capture. With the lens you will have compressed the BKG along with the shallow DoF, but I still feel you needed more DoF which would not impact on the diffused backdrop.
Don't forget to post replies on other postings, we recommend 3-5 replies to one of your own postings, it's a good way to learn.
TFS
Steve
Hi Greg - Welcome to BPN and the Wildlife Forum. A nice look at the cheetah in the tall grass. The framing works quite well for me. You've gotten some good advice above and I agree with Steve about WB and techs in the field. It is up to you to decide whether you want the image to reflect what you saw or if you want to take it in another direction. In this case I would have probably gone somewhere in between your post and Gabriela's.
As Steve said, jumping in and posting comments on other wildlife images is the best way to quickly become part of the community. Your comments don't have to be technical in nature. Just tell us what you like and/or don't like about a particular image. It also allows us to all learn from each other.
TFS,
Rachel
Hi Greg -- A nice image indeed and I agree with the above comments, especially regarding the colours and the kind of scene you would like to reflect , it is very subjective. Gabriela's RP has improved this image for my liking. Keep them coming and TFS !
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