Hello everyone , thank you for all your comments and suggestions to my previous post as always much appreciated.
Decided to give a break to Tiger images, after seeing some fantastic images from Dr.Sanjeev from his recent Africa trip and of course all the wonderful images from Gabriela from the same region, I too was tempted to post an image from that part of the world.
Sighted this female leopard early in the morning but she was on the hunt and continuously moved from one place to another. We somehow lost her and after a frantic search were able to locate her resting in the tall grasses. We decided to wait for her which turned out to be a good 3 hr wait resulting in some harsh lighting conditions when finally some impalas appeared on the scene. She quickly got in her action routine and in doing so climbed up a tree for a recce. Nothing materialised into a hunt but definitely into some good photo opportunities even though the light was quite strong.
DPP 4.8, PSCC 2019, WB, curves, levels, selective colour, vignetting, sharpening, cloned out a few distracting branches behind the leopard.
Hi Haseeb, a fine shot with great 'perch' and clean BG. You managed to expose well despite the harsh light. Wish the eyes were fully open for the stare to have more impact but not a deal breaker. Lovely image and TFS.
Hi Haseeb, nice encounter and I like the framing albeit it needs a bit more at the foot.
Was the image under exposed? In this instance the vignette I feel is a negative addition and the image is heavily clipped in the blacks and so you are loosing detail in both shadows & midtone and so the LH branch appears dominating. To me the colours look/appear a bit muted, where I might have thought the coat would be richer and the whites cleaner/brighter. Is this cropped and if so, by how much, as it would be helpful if folk can add this in when posting, thanks.
cloned out a few distracting branches behind the leopard.
I would have also toned down the brighter HL to the right & below the tree.
@ Steve : This is not cropped so no more space at the foot. As far as colours are concerned I did opted for a more richer look and then backed off on second thoughts, so i could explore that again. Also will back off on vignette especially on that branch.
Steve : This is not cropped so no more space at the foot.
I think Haseeb you sometimes either need to pull back in position when using a fixed, prime lens, or ditto with a zoom, but this is far easier, I just think you are not allowing yourself many options when 'framing' the subject. Give yourself say 10%+ room to play with for the final crop rather than trying to create a final frame in camera. Remember for the future, if you supplied the image to a Photo library or similar, then they will require the FF version, uncropped, so always try to have a bit of leeway.
You are absolutely right Steve , more often than not i try to get the final frame in the camera itself, its kind of become a habit for me now. I will have to keep your advice in mind from now on.
Wonderful sighting, subject seems quite relaxed and I like the expression on her face and eye contact. Don't think I have ever seen whiskers that long on a leopard
Frame does appear a little tight at the bottom. And even though the subject's tail might be hidden from view I would still want to allow for it
Colours look good, Steve's brighter version looks even better. I too think a vignette was not needed here. BG is really nice, especially with that bit of 'tidying up".
Those branches on the LHS are indeed a bit of a problem, must say I have encountered this issue a number of times as well. What can we do Haseeb, leopards love to rest and also place their prey in the fork of a tree, so there are always branches or leaves to contend with!
Otherwise, subject is sharp with good detail. Techs are ok, but I think you were taking a chance there...always anticipate movement when it comes to the big cats so aim for a faster SS, especially when you can afford the ISO
I certainly enjoyed viewing, as well as reading your exchanges with Steve and Sanjeev, looking forward to the RP if you have time.
Haseeb, sorry, I posted my reply at the same time you uploaded your RP
I like itStill find the blue patches in the BG a tad distracting but of course its your choice whether you wish to remove them or not.
Hi Haseeb .... well my impression was you only tried ... but not managed to overcome the clipping .
Check the histogram ... all 3 channels still clipped IMHO . How does this come ?
African Leopard !
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Still find the blue patches in the BG a tad distracting but of course its your choice whether you wish to remove them or not. 
