Kalahari Wild Cat

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Friends,

Tonight I would like share with you an image of a Kalahari Wild Cat. She was well concealed among vegetation and my companion and I were really lucky to spot her in a relatively large tree near a water hole.

I have images taken at various camera settings but this particular one - even though taken at relatively low shutter speed - appealed to me most. I felt it showed the inquisitive but shy nature of the species and that bit of light on her face helped bring out the lovely colours of her coat and beautiful eyes.

Techs:

Nikon D5
Nikon 500 F4
ISO 2500
F6.3
1/800s

Processed in LR and Photoshop CC, cropped 50% of the original frame. Hope you enjoy this, and kindly let me have your thoughts, be it of a technical nature or otherwise. Thank you so much for viewing

[Giovanni Frescura]

Very nice portrait.
Good light and perfect background ! and right composition about the cat's location

[Steve Kaluski]

Stunning Gabriela, love the light here as the subject emerges out of the shadows and the cat has that hesitant look in approaching which I find appealing. I also like the way you have just brought up the HL's in the hairs of the ears to add a subtle touch. Just watch adding any Blacks, Clarity and or Contrast globally.

One of your best, hope you have more to share, nice work.

TFS
Steve

[Gabriela Plesea]

Many thanks Gio and Steve for your kind comments

Steve, I do not touch the Contrast tool at all, no clarity and in this instance no Blacks. Since 2013...You taught me well I did drop exposure quite a bit to achieve the desired effect. Perhaps the curve a bit too much, will back off if you think it's needed.

Will certainly post more from this trip, thank you so much for viewing!

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

I did drop exposure quite a bit to achieve the desired effect. Perhaps the curve a bit too much, will back off if you think it's needed.

The issue you then have is that you have applied it 'globally', where you want to be more 'targeted' to the areas you want to address. If you practice some homework then you will find you can be more specific, achieve what you want to, but WITHOUT affecting other areas within the image.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Hi Gabriela, welcome back from the Kgalagadi I love everything about this image, the eye contact, the way the animal pops out from background, the play of shadow and light - it reminds me of a 17th century Dutch master's painting. I would not change a thing, IMO the strong contrast enhances the dramatic quality of the image. You have just given me something to strive for!

[Steve Kaluski]

it reminds me of a 17th century Dutch master's painting.

Cool observation.

IMO the strong contrast enhances the dramatic quality of the image.

Hi Chris, it also will kill any 'fine detail' held within the midtones as illustrated in your Lion image, you need to retain/preserve the midtones. This is why folk often ramp up Contrast/Clarity (both of which are the same, they just do slightly different things), they think by doing so that it looks sharper, sadly it just hurts the image.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Dear Steve and Chris,

Thank you so much, I am enjoying your comments and discussion

Going to post more images and hope to have your opinions again. Been away for some time, have forgotten how much fun this place can be

Chris, those cats - as you know - hide so well up there in deep foliage. I have a few images of one on the ground but at very high ISO.

And Steve, I promise I will try not hurt the images

[haseeb badar]

HI Gabriela -- Welcome back, great to have you posting again .

And believe me the first thought which came to my mind after seeing this image was, " this is one of your best images that I have seen". It is stunning. Just loved the lighting and the pose, details are exceptional. Really made my day. Beautifully done, felling short of superlatives . Something I would love to have in my collection .

TFS !

[Gabriela Plesea]

You are so kind with your words Haseeb, much appreciated. I think my approach was good but there's still room for improvement

Have a wonderful week ahead,

Kind regards,

[Jonathan Ashton]

Yes it's a me too comments - one of your very best! The eyes really grab my attention then the fine details in the ears. The manner in which the light fades away down the the trees and the flank of the cat is mystical - magical. A really beautiful portrayal of this cat.

[greg cowle]

I don't know if it is all natural or you helped in PP, but the framing with the dark surrounds is excellent. Nice little cat.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much dear Jon and Greg,

I did do some work on the background to make the subject more prominent.

I have another image of a wild cat which I will share with you tonight, it's a little different and I hope you like it

Kind regards,

[John Mack]

Love the light on this one. The cat looks like it stepped out of the shadows just to have this frame snapped of it. Details look great.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much John:)

If I may describe those cats, they are extremely shy but curious at the same time. This particular one did come forward to check us out, only to withdraw in the deepest shade seconds later. And turned around... all we could see was her back side...

By the way they spend two to three days in one tree and then move on. My companion and I were extremely lucky to spot eight wild cats on this trip, we drove slowly and looked for them in every tree that seemed suitable (lots of foliage and deep shade).

Kind regards,

[Geoffrey Montagu]

I too like everything about this capture, Gabriela. Your description of them being extremely shy, but curious is depicted completely in the pose. Congratulations on capturing that. I also like the the rays of sunlight on the cat and the rich dark background. I feel beyond lucky having seen one for a second or two in Botswana, and getting only two frames, and to know that you saw eight makes me all the more envious. Well done.

Thanks again for the links to the two images.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you very much Geoffrey, such kind words - much appreciated.