I photographed this female leopard in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. She had a den nearby and sat for a good hour on this dune watching me closely. Not the greatest of backgrounds (the bush was too close), but getting a wild leopard like this is still a great experience to me, well worth capturing.
Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Date/Time: 2007:06:21 15:34:31
Shutter speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: 10
Exposure mode: Av
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
Lens: 500mm
Focal length: 1000mm
Agree with your comments about the BG but then most of our subjects do not like to be moved to the perfect position :D A really nice portrait all the same
You are fortunate to have one hour with a leopard. But that's how wildlife is. At times it can be a fleeting moment, and at times it can be for hours togather.
A nice portrait. The tail appears to be slightly clipped. I agree that the background is not great. The dune appears to be on the brighter side. I would have dialed in a little negative compensation to make it a little darker. The shadow on the eyes, doesn't appear nice, but unless and untill the light is very soft you have to make do with that. Overall, a nice shot.
I like this Chris. I photographed a book on this area about 35 years ago and made a number of visits during the course of one year and saw only one leopard (from a distance) in all that time. I've never seen any in several subsequent visits. I think Sabyasachi has made some good observations for your consideration.
Last edited by David Steele; 02-24-2008 at 12:55 AM.
Reason: Correction.
I am liking this a lot and the presence of the leopard - his look,his stare - is powerfull and counteracts any negatives with the BG which is not all the bad since it is even in pattern.
The composition is perfect IMO. The leopard right in the middle, with the same room left to right and top to bottom.
What a beautiful looking leopard she is Chris, for me the leopard is perfect so the BG dos not bother me at all, just love the front paws together and the pose is typical leopard. Great image and well done. Regards Bunty "Peter"