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Thread: Legadema the leopard, Mombo Camp, Botswana

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    Default Legadema the leopard, Mombo Camp, Botswana



    Nikon D3, 200-400mm f/4 VR, 1/160 @ f/4, ISO 6400
    Mombo Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana. July 2009

    If you have seen Eye of the Leopard you are certainly familiar with Legadema. She is as cool as cool gets when in front of a camera. Nothing fazes here at all. We enjoyed tracking her on a daily basis last July, and we would just sit and watch one of my favorite subjects in all of Africa. Not only are leopards my favorite big cat to photograph, this specific one has stolen my heart as well.

    On this afternoon we watched her well after sunset, and I had to jack up the ISO to 6400 and shoot wide open at f/4 to get it just right. To me big cats are all about eye contact and their tail movement, and I have many images in this sequence of her tail in a blurry mess. 1/160 of a second wasn't enough to freeze the action, but on this one specific movement she kept her tail up in the air for a splinter of a second for us to photograph her.
    Last edited by Andy Biggs; 07-22-2010 at 12:39 AM.

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    Great image, Andy, you certaintly got the eye contact, ....tail movement adds to image, just a minor point I find the green in FG a bit disstracting , would consider desaturating just a small bit....

    Peter

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    Ken Watkins
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    Andy,

    Fine image, I think that this could be improved by a less central crop. I would take quite a lot of LHS and a little from the bottom IQ allowing.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    A nice and clean image again Andy, with some good space around the subject for it to breathe. Guess that's the joy of a large zoom compared to a fixed lens.

    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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    What a privilege to capture this star. She certainly looks very relaxed. TFS

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    all the images I've seen of her really shows what a joy she must be to photograph.
    gorgeous image Andy, love the soft light, DOF and the tail movement is just right
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Marc Mol's Avatar
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    Lovely image of this famous cat Andy, looking very relaxed. Kudos to the D3 as well, still good detail @6400.
    Have a great return trip to Botswana.
    TFS


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    excellent image for all reasons said above
    TFS

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