Leopard Cub

[Rachel Hollander]

I'll start us off for August's Theme of "Youngsters" with a 3-4 month old leopard cub. The cub was with mom on morning patrol. Here she came down the road as some of the first rays of light of the day hit her face.

Canon 7D2
300 II
1/800
f3.5
ISO 800
Monopod from vehicle, small crop for comp, curves, color adjustments, sharpened in PSCC.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

P.S. We've posted the Themes for the next year plus in a sticky at the top of the forum.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Rachel -- What a cute looking leoprad cub and loved the way that light is hitting its face. nice timing to get that eye contact as well. SS is a bit low considering the subject is moving with some pace but understand that the cub might have sprinted suddenly. Colors look nice as well.

Nicely done. TFS !

[John Mack]

Love how her face is in the early morning light. Gives some nice pop. Details look good.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Rachel, the illuminated face really takes this up, the walking pose, the look to the camera and the framing all work nicely. Agree the SS could have been higher, but not a deal breaker here.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Rachel, agree on the SS, but if the cub came any closer your DoF would have been a real issue. I like the light, but too much OOF grass to the RHS for me.

BTW what case setting did you have, it will tell you in DPP.


TFS
Steve

TFS
Steve

[Steve Kaluski]

Sorry Sanjeev, ask the Case setting in your post by mistake.

[Rachel Hollander]

Steve - I generally don't use the case settings.

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve - I generally don't use the case settings.

You need too, they are there to help/enable you to make/achieve capture. If you do move to a new body in the future, 'Cases' are an integral part of your camera settings and Customise the way the camera operates to achieve it's full potential and deliver the image.

[Rachel Hollander]

I found that it was just one more thing to think about and wasn't really seeing a difference in results whether I used them or not. Most of the time if I used them I kept it on Case 1 for wildlife. Btw I believe Grant had recommended rather than cases, moving the 3 components to the green menu and then controlling each one individually.

[Steve Kaluski]

Even with the 7D2 & 5D3 they were added to enable the capture, but have since been refined even more and so 5D4, 1Dx 1 & 2 function far better, but as I have said, these cameras need to be told what to do to achieve the capture unlike the older models. Shooting a subject left to right is different to a subject coming towards you and the camera unless you tell it make make mistakes in it's capture.

Btw I believe Grant had recommended rather than cases, moving the 3 components to the green menu and then controlling each one individually.

Green you mean 'My settings', yes we all do that, as it's easier to Customise when shooting.

[Rachel Hollander]

Yes, I could remember the color but not the name of the menu. So are you adjusting those settings individually or using the pre-packaged cases?

[Steve Kaluski]

So are you adjusting those settings individually or using the pre-packaged cases?

Yes of course, the settings are only suggestions (hence the base line shift option) and are designed to be 'customise' depending on the scene and what you are shooting, so it maximises you nailing the shot - it's an aid. You have a greater choice with the more up to date bodies, however some 'Cases' are not really applicable to certain 'wildlife' encounters IMHO, but it's all individual and open to interpretation to a degree. Understanding what the first two do is crucial, many folk I have seen have things set up so the camera is 'accelerating' but with the 'break' on...

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Rachel,

This is really special - a little leopard on its own, wow! POV is great and I love the "rush" here, seems only one foot is touching the ground! Lovely light on its face and great eye contact. I get the feeling that, had you opened the vehicle door, he would have jumped in:)

Composition works for me and I like the curvature of the path the subject is walking on ( or rather flying over, LOL). Colours look natural. I too think more DoF would have been great but don't dare complain too much because I have this problem ever so often, forget to change camera settings when subject is running towards me

Interesting conversation about the "case settings", reminds me to spend some time with my gear and go out there practice some more.

Love this little cub Rachel, very precious - I want to grab him and put him in my pocket

Thank you so much for sharing,

Warmest regards,