Since it's Cheetah week...
These two brothers had been hunting for just over an hour with no luck, so they just 'chilled out' on a mound under a shady tree. Taken mid morning at Lebala.
At 12x16 print the detail in the face is stunning, the eyes & nose have so much detail.
Steve
MKIII 500f/4 1/1250sec f/6.3 ISO200 (HH, FF)
Minor tweaks in Curves, Sat, Highlight/shadow, minimal USM
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Love the pose, detail & lighting here Steve.
Took the liberty of running it through a Luminosity mask in CS5 @ 78% opacity, to take the edge off the highlights, hope you don't mind, let me know what you think.
Ah ha, have no problem Marc, good to show the comparison and the effect it creates
Did the same when I processed the image originally, but kicked it back to 40%, but felt it started to look too warm and not as 'authentic',:2 just depends on your POV I think.
It will be interesting to see the thoughts of others, however I think I know how it will go, personally it might be between the two. Appreciate the input.
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Steve,
When was this taken, just wondering if is the very big cheetah pair who specialise in Kudu.
Would have preferred to see some more of the second cheetah and more eyes of the main one.
Marc,
The repost seems much too yellow (warm?) to me
Hi Ken 2008-9 they seem to patrolling between Lebala and Lagoon, took abot 50 mins to locate, but they seem to be quite chilled. Was really focusing more on the first as the vantage point to the left wasn't so accessible, plus other objects were in the way, dead tree, so a hint of the other was IMHO fine, as perhaps having the two might have weakened the overall image, as they might then vi for attention?
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Then it must be the same pair, we last saw them in June 2009, again in not very good circumstances, certainly not for the Kudu that was with them.
Nice portrait of this cheetah Steve. Good pose and techs. The rear cat is a minor distraction, but you make the image as best you can under the circumstances presented or go home with an empty card. I'll make the image every time and would be happy with this in my files. Such beautiful cats! Well done.
TFS
todd
Great details Steve, given the harsh lighting all around the subject.
The stare just screams "concentration" to me.
The leg leaving the frame bottom left bothers me a little but I don't see how it could have been avoided given the stance.
tfs
Austin
nicely exposed given the circumstances here Steve
Marc's lumo mask has made the face "pop" a bit more IMHO
I find Marc's repost a little too rich and blocked, but I can see that some of the masking would have been interesting. I like the battle scarred face and find the 2nd cheetah adds extra depth and interest. Not so keen on the chopped off leg in the lower left corner. Love the eyes, to die for!
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