Another view of 2 of the 3 cheetah brothers who had only recently killed this pregnant topi.
Taken early afternoon in fairly harsh light.
5Dmk2; 24-105 @ 75mm; ISO200; f5.6; 1/320
Cropped out the rear of the topi along with the 3rd cheetah.
Another view of 2 of the 3 cheetah brothers who had only recently killed this pregnant topi.
Taken early afternoon in fairly harsh light.
5Dmk2; 24-105 @ 75mm; ISO200; f5.6; 1/320
Cropped out the rear of the topi along with the 3rd cheetah.
Looks like three of you had great time
Love the design and techs of image
TFS
Looks like a awesome sighting! You must have been very close:eek: Low angle is great and the moment is fantastic! Harsh light very well handled.
Hi Hilary
You got a really good perspective on this.. love the angle.. only suggestions I would make is to work on the sky a little as it is bit flat.. would bring out some detail in the whites.. would also work on the eyes of cheetah just to bring out a little more colour..
great image well done
peter
Hilary,
I will surprise you by saying this is IMHO your best yet. I agree on Peter's points most particularly the Cheetahs eyes, it is also a little cramped by Topis nose but I really do not mind.
Thank you for the comments.
A couple of things, I did try to improve the sky but it started to look over processed so perhaps I was using the wrong technique. More effort needed.
Sadly the topi's nose was right against the edge of the frame so no more space there.
I'll have another look at the eyes.![]()
Hilary - Well done. Great comp and pov with excellent sharpness. Some good suggestions by Peter.
TFS,
Rachel
Hilary,
I agree with Peter's and Ken's comments.
On the sky; it looks to be a lot of atmospheric haze which is difficult to bring detail out of. Local contrast enhancement (in PS, USM on BG Copy at 20/50/0 and then mask just for sky can help sometimes).
On the nose: After making this image a quick pan left and snap another image at the same exposure and combine later in PS. Works like a charm.
lovely perspective Hilary, the low angle really puts it over the top...
I am not a fan of "square-ish" crops so I wonder if adding back a little on RHS up to but not including the 3rd cheetah would move away from the "square-ishness"
good suggestions by Robert
I would like to also add my well done Hilary, like that you managed to get low and good perspective. I agree with nose being to close to frames edge, I would maybe try add a little canvas there TFS![]()
Hi Hilary, yes no denying the image does look flat, however I think if you were to revisit the file, even back to RAW, I know you will be able to pull the rabbit out of the hat, it just needs a bit more work at the back end which you are more than capable of doing, as that is the easy stuff.
I think what Dumay & Vivaldo have hit on more importantly is the POV, which is really good IMHO and something I personally want to do more of later this year (and am hoping to work with some good members here in achieving that). Getting this kind of image is never easy, it takes time, skill and dare I say a little bit of luck, as exposure, focus/DOF and ultimately composition is far trickier than sitting in a jeep and firing off a few frames.
So from my perspective, Top Marks in achieving an interesting POV, you just need a bit more time in the 'Dark room'as all the components are there.
Look forward to seeing more hopefully and perhaps adding in some of Roberts thoughts too, in future postings.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Thank you Steve for the encouragement and the ideas you've given me to get more out of this image. As you know, I'm looking at some of the other poses to see if I can come up with an image which covers all the points raised and then re process using some of the tips you have given. Sometimes it is best to walk away for a while to clear the head before trying again.
Thanks Rachel, Robert, Morkel & Vivaldo. Some good suggestions for me to consider. Robert, I do have a pan shot to enable inclusion of more lhs space but feel that I need to get the base processing right first. The sky is still troubling me so some technique refinement needs to happen this weekend.
Hilary, congrats on a fine capture. I am jealous and maybe one day I will get a shot on an African safari. As for now, I will enjoy all the images shared here. I am relatively new here, but the cheetahs, almost have an oversharpened look to me. The edge of there bodies look a bit sharp as I see it. But overall, I love the shot and appreciate your sharing it.
As mentioned above Hilary , great POV and low angle with good management of the light. Love this image TFS.