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Thread: Charlie the Cheetah

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    BPN Viewer Matt Fragale's Avatar
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    Default Charlie the Cheetah

    Visited a local big cat rescue. This is Charlie who spends his days wishing he could hunt the horses that share the farm that is also part of his habitat. The fun thing I learned on this visit is that cheetahs (and several other big cats) meow just like house cats. Charlie sounds just like my Siamese, Mooky. He also purrs quite loudly.

    120-300mm @ 300mm and f/2.8, through a chain link fence. 1/500 at ISO 400.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Matt, shooting through a fence/chain is always difficult, so you have done a reasonable job.

    By using such an open aperture it has helped you with the fence & creating a diffused BKG, however the two main issues with the image is that the feet are cut off and the image isn't sharp, or it needs some USM applied to the Cheetah.

    When posting images like this can you please add (C) to the title, for captive, the camera used ie D3100 and reducing the size of copywriting wording.

    TFS
    Steve
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    Co-Founder James Shadle's Avatar
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    Matt,
    Could you have zoomed out or backed up enough to include this beautiful animals feet?
    IMO a little more contrast and another USM pass would strengthen this image.


    The following guideline explains Steve's comment "reducing the size of copywriting wording."
    #23 Posted images may not have any logos or graphics other than a discreet copyright notice.

    Oooh! Hey, I can have a signature now!
    YES!

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    BPN Viewer Matt Fragale's Avatar
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    Oops, sorry about the "C" and the somewhat large copyright... so 72 point isn't considered "discreet"? lol I'll fix that in the LR export I set up for this. Thanks!

    I kind of like the lack of feet on this particular image, so it was actually a design choice for me. But I certainly can see where others may not. I will try some additional sharpening. I was unsure how much was too much. At first when I was working on it, I had it very sharp and it just looked weird to me, but I probably backed off a bit too much now. I'll work on it later and try to find the sweet spot and repost. Hopefully I can improve it! Thanks!

    This was a learning experience for me. It was my first time shooting with a relatively long (and heavy) 2.8 lens. Shooting at 2.8 definitely made eliminating the fence easier, but the very shallow depth of field definitely adds a level of difficulty. I really had to be spot on with the focus point or I ended up with soft focus in the wrong place (which I did on an obscene number of photos, like this one). I probably should have posted this one in Eager to Learn, rather than here... getting too big for my britches, I think. lol But I'm working on it!

    Thanks guys and anyone else that would like to comment :) So glad I found this place!

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Matt, might be worth 'toggling' between the two Forums, but never fear on posting here, we don't bite.

    Having a zoom gives you much more flexibility, so perhaps adding just a fraction more room all round when shooting and then crop slightly. Certainly having the feet in would be a plus, however if you shot with them in, you could then have cropped to your desire, that way then you have the best of both worlds. You will find that some addition sharpening will be required after resizing for web and if you use PS, then use the preview window, where again you can toggle between the two, on & off and then increase/decrease as required, don't look at the image, the preview is your 'buddy'.

    All the best.
    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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    Co-Founder James Shadle's Avatar
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    Matt said:
    Cutting off the feet : " it was actually a design choice for me"
    In that case, take a look at cropping up until the tip of the tail is gone.
    It looks more deliberate and the tail tip is not a distracting element.

    Just food for thought.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Matt - I agree with Steve and James that this would have been better with the paws and more room below. James ' suggestion to crop more might be a good alternative. I also agree that additional sharpening is needed. Try the sharpening action for web that Morkel posted in a sticky above. It's easy to use and works wonders. Looking forward to seeing more of your images.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Agreed with comments above ,
    TFS

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    BPN Viewer Steve Canuel's Avatar
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    Like the pose and soft, cool light. Agree it could use a touch more sharpening but always a personal taste for the poster. James suggestion on a tighter crop is a valid one. Was told to crop closer to limb/body joints to show it was intentional rather than accidental on one of my similar tight posts.

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    Matt,
    I agree on cropping the legs higher. I would crop at the top of the letters in the original post (e.g. along the top of the T's inn MATT). I would also select the bright background and reduce it a little, as it dominates too much.

    Roger

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    some good pointers and advice given already, Matt
    I would crop way tighter, showing just a "bust with face" here.
    Morkel Erasmus

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