Bush Meat

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Friends,

I was just about to post a jackal image tonight but changed my mind

Did not think the IQ here was particularly good (because of the need of a huge crop) but processed this frame nevertheless. Sharing it only because I would like to show you this golden light I was lucky to experience in the Kalahari. My subject is a little leopard whose mother made a kill and then hanged it in a bush to hide it away from other predators. She did not manage to do a good job of concealing the leftovers though, the carcass got stuck and most of it was visible and accessible to jackals, hyenas and lions. At first the cub climbed inside the bush but had to jump out almost immediately because a number of bees were bothering him, here he is trying to grab a morsel from below.

Nikon D5
Nikon 500mm F4
ISO 2500
F6.3
1/1250s

Hope you all have a great rest of the evening,

[Jonathan Ashton]

An unusual image, I like the story and the expression on the young face. The area of brightness almost perfectly illuminates the head and ears.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Gabriela - Gorgeous warm light giving that spotlight effect. The vertical comp works with the leopard looking up and the impala leg hanging down. Looking forward to seeing more from your trip to the Kalahari.

TFS,
Rachel

[John Mack]

Sweet light here. Interesting story to go along as well. I like the vertical composition and the dangling leg.

[haseeb badar]

HI Gabriela -- I liked the crop here , and the light is superb . IQ doesn't look that affected at least at this size considering the huge crop you have mentioned above. Looks you have been quite lucky with the Leopards . Haven't noticed that copyright design of yours before, looks quite nice .

TFS !

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you dear friends,

Indeed my companion and I have been lucky with leopards this February. But it was hard work to find them... lots of tracking... and patience... and way too many cups of coffee while waiting for them to pitch up...

BTW we have not figured out what species this carcass belonged too. Certainly a lamb, does not look like springbok, too light in colour to be a wildebeest or hartebeest, the eland were seen in the area just days before so a possibility. Not enough clues, so a mystery for now Maybe the guys from the leopard research team will shed some light on this issue, will see...

Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week,