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Thread: Cheetah

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    Default Cheetah

    Being on the ground with an adult cheetah was not an experience I ever thought I'd have, but that's exactly what happened at Zimanga Private Game Reserve in Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa last week. For those unfamiliar with this location, it's a dedicated photography ranch with a mix of open habitats and blinds. I passed on the reserve on my summer/personal trip to South Africa this summer because it's fiendishly expensive, but a bird-interested client hired me (through Tropical Birding) to accompany him on a ten-day South Africa photo tour, five of those spent at Zimanga and five spent in Kruger. In full disclosure, Zimanga's cheetahs are chipped, so locating them isn't a challenge. That said, the animals patrol a set portion of the property and -- with multiple vehicles carrying 1-4 clients each -- there are almost always human eyes on them, particularly at the beginning and the end of day (the property hold ~16 clients at capacity). The cats have habituated to people over the years, so that's how I was able to exit the truck and approach this male on foot. So, take from this disclosure what you want; these are technically wild animals, but I felt compelled to explain the unusual circumstances which Zimanga presents. That said, it didn't feel much different than shooting lions at Kruger, several of which walked within five feet of our car (those frames coming later).

    This male was capture a few moments after sunset (quite a few clouds). Though I started with my 100-400, I quickly swapped it out for my 600 to maximize bokeh and minimize distraction. Even at f/4, I still had to evict a few bothersome blades of grass in post-processing. Pretty stoked with this result.

    Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS R5
    1/500 at f/4, ISO 1600
    Processed in LR CC and Topaz DN (very light pass)

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Dorian, you should have flagged this up that you were in the area, firstly it's almost on Gabriela's door step and if you wanted any advice we both could have offered it prior...


    I like the framing and good call on the choice to swop lenses, the direct stare does grab the viewer. Nice amount of mush FG and the 600 gave you the bokeh you wanted, but the overall colour has a slight bias offering little tonal range to give any difference between subject and environment, it's all of a similar tone.As a result, you therefore get little form/depth in the coat and so again lacks the depth you need to provide separation across the whole capture. You have it all there, just some simple tweaks just pulls it all together.

    Hope you had a great experience in the Scavenger hide and all night hide, but there you need wide lens of f/2.8.

    Look forward too more.

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Yeah, this first trip to Zimanga was - as I expected it would be - mostly a learning experience. I knew a 16-35mm f/2.8 would be useful in the overnight hide, but I couldn't justify the purchase for one night of use. Not a goddamn thing came into the overnight hide after dark, so that proved a wise decision. And we had zero vultures at the scavenger hide. And we had zero finches at the reflection hide. There were massive rains for the week before we arrived, so we got the absolute worst of Zimanga, sadly. Fortunately, my client didn't mind as he isn't a serious photographer (he carries only an older Lumix and 100-400 f/6.3 lens). I know it sounds weird, but he's mostly in in for the experience rather than wall-hanging results. My company is going to give me more Africa stuff in the future, so I'm sure I'll be back at Zimanga eventually.

    As for the image, I'm not sure what I can do to make the cat stand out more from the grass. I mean, they've evolved to blend in, right? I'm not really willing to make selective adjustments on the subject or surroundings as this is how they appeared. So, curious what other ideas you might have. Cheers.
    Last edited by Dorian Anderson; 11-05-2022 at 12:24 PM.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Real shame about the overnight hide. albeit a lottery at times, but quite a few of my friends have won the WPOTY awards from here, including the owner Charl.

    Just my take Dorian based on your posting, monitor as just been calibrated at the start of the month and number 'validated', but laptops will display differently compared to desktop monitors. You certainly are covering ground, enjoy.
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Good evening Dorian and Steve,

    And thank you for sharing, Dorian. Much appreciated. I like the pose from the cheetah and point of view is great, good composition. Original a tad warm for me, I think Steve's RP is closer to a more 'natural' look and feel. Sorry to hear weather wasn't on your side this time around but glad your guest enjoyed the experience. There's a place I can recommend for you when you return to SA but you will have to book well in advance... it is not far from Zimanga - about 30 minutes' drive. You'll have Big 5 sightings - I guarantee -and great food, decent accommodation and you and your guests will be well looked after by a stunning team of amazing people, all passionate about wildlife

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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    Given the kind comments from Steve and Gabriela, it's clear I went too yellow with the original post. That's not surprising at WB is the parameter that gives me the most trouble. And LR is notorious for WB challenges with Canon files.

    I appreciate the repost, but I cannot bring myself to go that pink given what I saw in the field. I have therefore split the difference between my original post and your suggestion. I think this is a happy compromise.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    it's clear I went too yellow with the original post. That's not surprising at WB is the parameter that gives me the most trouble. And LR is notorious for WB challenges with Canon files.
    Hi Dorian, sorry but your comment is incorrect, 'Lr is notorious in changing Canon or indeed any other brand of camera files', if it were, then a lot of folk would be in trouble and Lr would fade away. It all comes back to how you start your process, however the screen/monitor needs to be correctly calibrated with key set values before you even start and then calibrated once a month with one of the X-rite products (generic umbrella name), or when the software indicates. Lr like all ALL converters has it's Pro's & Cons, there isn't one standalone, (well there is, but it would baffle everyone except Arash perhaps and would take him at lease a few days to understand it and over a month to full grasp it). However... WB is the cornerstone to any manipulation of an image without getting this right, you compound all subsequent changes and biases, hence why all Software starts with WB in their dev module.


    I appreciate the repost, but I cannot bring myself to go that pink given what I saw in the field.
    The RP is not a definitive posting as its working from your OP and only 256 colours, but Pink, that to me indicates what you are seeing is defiantly not right and I'm guessing Dorian you are on a laptop which can't be calibrated, the tilt of the screen and any other ambient light will also affect what you see. To my knowledge only Jon and myself process within a dark room with only the light from the screen and both monitors have hoods to block any straying light.
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski View Post
    Hi Dorian, sorry but your comment is incorrect, 'Lr is notorious in changing Canon or indeed any other brand of camera files', if it were, then a lot of folk would be in trouble and Lr would fade away. It all comes back to how you start your process, however the screen/monitor needs to be correctly calibrated with key set values before you even start and then calibrated once a month with one of the X-rite products (generic umbrella name), or when the software indicates. Lr like all ALL converters has it's Pro's & Cons, there isn't one standalone, (well there is, but it would baffle everyone except Arash perhaps and would take him at lease a few days to understand it and over a month to full grasp it). However... WB is the cornerstone to any manipulation of an image without getting this right, you compound all subsequent changes and biases, hence why all Software starts with WB in their dev module.

    The RP is not a definitive posting as its working from your OP and only 256 colours, but Pink, that to me indicates what you are seeing is defiantly not right and I'm guessing Dorian you are on a laptop which can't be calibrated, the tilt of the screen and any other ambient light will also affect what you see. To my knowledge only Jon and myself process within a dark room with only the light from the screen and both monitors have hoods to block any straying light.
    I looked at the image on a 24" iMac, in the dark, at 4:00 am Texas time since I'm still jet-lagged and finding sleep difficult. Just as there is no perfect converter, we each chose to highlight different aspects of an image. That's all this is.

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    Indeed Dorian, hope you get some well earned sleep. BTW How do you calibrate an iMac, curious?
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Kaluski View Post
    Indeed Dorian, hope you get some well earned sleep. BTW How do you calibrate an iMac, curious?
    Never done it. Haven't ever cared enough to do it because it seems like splitting hairs, mainly to satisfy people on this board! Might look into
    it moving forward, but I suspect our individual color/tone/contrast preferences will influence images more than any calibration.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Dorian I have some sympathy with some of the points you make but there is one major fact that is inescapable and one that really cannot be flouted. If you do not calibrate your monitor then you quite simply do not know how accurate those colours are. They may indeed be pretty accurate but they may be out and you would not know, you would have a subjective opinion and they would look "pretty good or not far out" .
    Over a period of time the colours shown on your screen will begin to drift - probably quite little and gradually, but drift they will. Over that period of time you will become tolerant and you simply will not know if the colours are accurate, you will be able to make them look accurate to you but that does not mean they are measurably accurate, because you are not starting from a consistent and accurate point. It is this starting point that will not be common with other people's screens. Hope this helps I have made this as brief as I can.
    Last edited by Jonathan Ashton; 11-07-2022 at 03:36 PM.

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Dorian ... a real cracking portrait of this cool " cat " , as some folks do not even call them cats .
    Love it , specially the straight stare .
    As far as my experience .... they can be relativly safe aüpproached on foot . In the wild .... they will just run away when you are trying to approach them , like most animals would do . Unless they are used to people on foot and folks know what they are doing .

    AS for the technical presentation ... a lot has been said . Color is a matter of taste and you have chosen your choice of colors , might not fit others tastes .... but your are the author .
    I would prefer a more " neutral " color grading and reduce the overall yellowish color grading .... but this is just me .

    So overall a fine image

    TFS Andreas

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton View Post
    Damian I have some sympathy with some of the points you make but there is one major fact that is inescapable and one that really cannot be flouted. If you do not calibrate your monitor then you quite simply do not know how accurate those colours are. They may indeed be pretty accurate but they may be out and you would not know, you would have a subjective opinion and they would look "pretty good or not far out" .
    Over a period of time the colours shown on your screen will begin to drift - probably quite little and gradually, but drift they will. Over that period of time you will become tolerant and you simply will not know if the colours are accurate, you will be able to make them look accurate to you but that does not mean they are measurably accurate, because you are not starting from a consistent and accurate point. It is this starting point that will not be common with other people's screens. Hope this helps I have made this as brief as I can.
    Hi Jon ... just my thought to your thinking .
    You are correct with your thoughts .... but pretty " useless" for folks who work on a " software calibarated screen " like an IMac or a MBP as they are not " hardware calibrated " . Another point is .... if your work is not " color critical " in terms of output like web images it is pretty much useless as we all have set up are screens differently .
    I think most of the decent screens would show the " yellow cast " of Dorian´s Cheetah , with slight shifts in hue ..... when being set up in factory defaults . Being in a dark or bright working environment .....
    Unless one does not produce images for commercial use or print ..... it is way OVERRATED for me .

    BUT .... i do work for sure like you described and you and Steve are not the only folks who work in a controlled and consistent environment
    We all try our best .... i do not even make a lot of variants in my processing like others do .

    Sorry for hijacking your thread , Dorian .

    Cheers Jon

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    IMHO Dorians re post is the best presentation of the scene (that i obviously never saw). I definately agree that halfway between Dorian and Steves original post is the best result. Nevertheless it is a fantastic image of magnificent creature. Imo the image would however improve slightly if the cheetah had its ears up and not back.

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