Panning Leopard

[Rachel Hollander]

I said I did a lot of experimentation on my recent trip and one of the ways was to try a fair number of panning images. Here's one of Tingana, one of the dominant male leopards in the northern section of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. To try the panning shots I set up a custom function on the camera with shutter priority, 1/15 ss and auto ISO. I sometimes adjusted the ss depending on the animal. Generally, I found it fun to try but also quite frustrating to actually accomplish.

Canon 5D3
70-200 II @ 200mm
1/15
f22
ISO 100
HH from safari vehicle, slight crop for comp, curves and color adjustments in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

A brave experiment Rachel, considering how fast and unpredictable these animals can move. You've done well under the circumstances!

[Glenn Pure]

I really enjoy seeing a bit of experimentation, Rachel and congratulate you on giving it a go here and on your recent trip - I'm envious though of all the trips to Africa of which we are seeing results now. And Steve seems to have headed off there as well.

As for your photo, I do like the effect of motion blur and have never been one to want completely frozen motion across the board. I think motion blur adds some dynamism and thrill to an image like this. The smeared background is also good. As you've discovered (probably not for the first time), these are hard shots to pull off. I think the classic 'perfect' shot of this type in my eyes at least is to have probably more smear in the background so it reverts more to streaky horizontal lines and, the biggest ask of all, having the animal, especially the head, fairly sharp. As I said, this is a big ask and why most people don't bother trying, I think. But again, I do congratulate you on this and have enjoyed looking and commenting. Oh, the other thing with this one: the part shadowing is probably not ideal but that is a more minor point.

[John Mack]

I've never tried this sounds challenging. This does have a since of motion. I think it would look better more blurred. Seems like this is the slowest settings you could get at the time. Always nice to see something different.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Tobie, Glenn and John. I highly recommend that people experiment and get out of their comfort zone in the field more often. It's one of the best ways to grow as a photographer and also to capture something different.

Thanks again,
Rachel

[Glenn Pure]

Agreed Rachel. On the subject of this type of shot, I was thinking more about it and my own limited experience trying this. Counter-intuitively, I think it works best with faster moving animals. Provided they are moving at a relatively stable speed, panning and tracking isn't too difficult (relatively). This enables more blur in the background at faster shutter speeds like 1/30 or 1/60 and possibly a greater chance of getting the odd frame where the head is sharp. If panning is fairly precise, then those moments between head bobs as the animal moves will provide that chance for a sharp head shot. Camera should be in burst mode and stabiliser on mode 2 (for Canon anyway).

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

First of all I just want to say this is one impressive male - whew, what an amazing sighting

Your techs are spot on and I like that the leopard's head is sharp in contrast with the rest of the body. Really nice movement/blur from the front limb. Colours look good and the framing is great. The vegetation on the top and RHS of the frame forms a natural vignette I quite like, I just wish the one tall blade of grass in the FG wasn't there.

I hope your recent experiments will inspire others here in the Wildlife Forum. I am certainly impressed with the results and willing to try something different next time I'm out and about. My only problem with playing around with images like this is, I work really hard to find leopards and cannot risk having to delete my shots. I will probably try it first with bokkies Rachel, for they are plenty

Thank you so much for sharing,

Warmest regards,

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Gabriela - Bokkies and impala make good subjects for these types of shots. With leopards and lions you can try these types of images when conditions are less than ideal. The light is low, there's lots of brush or the animal is simply moving through the brush quickly and there's not a opportunity to get ahead of it.

Thanks again,
Rachel