Fight or Flight

[Gabriela Plesea]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON Z 9
• VR 500mm f/4G
• ƒ/6.3
• 500mm
• 1/2500s
• ISO 6400
• GABRIELA PLESEA
• Fri, 16 December 2022 12:32 PM
• ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
• NIKON Z 9 Ver.03.00

Dear Friends,

For interest' sake I am sharing tonight another image from a special sighting I had on the 16th of December 2022. For those who have not seen my previous posts I would like to give you a bit of feedback: this cheetah mom made a kill very close to my home, I happened to be in my vehicle at the time and observing but unable to capture the 'action' because her cub was in close proximity. Did not want to cause any stress to the animals, they looked rather thin and in dire need of a meal. Was able to watch the chase in my rearview mirror, it all happened in seconds. Moments later I saw mom dragging the little lamb to a spot of shade, the cub joined her and as soon as I saw them relax a bit I repositioned the vehicle in order to have a better view. The little one was very excited and kept biting the kill and trying to drag it as if it was still alive while mom was catching her breath and watching cub practice 'life skills'.

Minutes later a family of warthogs arrived... parents and a few youngsters. Was surprised to see them surround the cheetahs and face them head-on and also heard them make a number of threatening grunts and growls I was not familiar with. The cheetah mom tried to defend the kill and protect her cub for a while but eventually decided to walk away. She looks aggressive in this frame but I am sure she was also scared and just reacting to the immediate threat, keeping the warthogs at bay while the cub got away.

Not my best image of this sighting but felt like sharing it, nevertheless. More DoF needed but in the heat of the moment I forgot about techs, was still busy setting up my new camera at the time and also, totally unprepared for this sighting. In terms of PP work the usual, LR and PSCC. I have no other software and my workflow is very basic. Pushed things a little in terms of colour to please the audience:tinysmile_shy_t:

Techs: Nikon Z9
Nikon 500mm F4
ISO 6400
+2/3 EV
F6.3
1/2500s

Hope you all have a lovely week-end, thank you so much for taking the time to view and for your kind comments on my previous images,

Warmest regards,

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gabriela ... gorgeous image of the Cheetah , just wish for the ever so slightest head turn .
Love the open mouth and the back folded ears , you got still lucky to capture it .
Thanks for the additional info in the intro about the sighting .

Basically nicely processed with tons of fine details rendered . Tones looking good .... just think the colors should be tweaked , too cold / neutral in both hL and shadows . Well in my book ...
I don´t think the colors of the teeth are looking so clean and white in real life

TFS Andreas

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much Boetie Andreas,

Indeed I was so lucky to witness this encounter and capture a few images... normally at work this time of the day but this happened on a public holiday:S3:

I see what you mean in your comments and it makes sense... must say I have not altered the colour/ brightness of the teeth in PP, could be from overexposing? I'll have another look at this as soon as I get a chance, thank you for taking the time to view and for feedback, much appreciated!

Kind regards,

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like it as presented, the issue that struck me about the teeth was how few there were, I suppose it is the size of the molars and premolars. The details in the coat appear exceptionally clear and the profile pops nicely from the background. I had not noticed any issues in the dark and highlights in terms of cold colouration.

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you so much, Jon!

Ummm...I notice something every time I look at this, LOL. There's some posterisation in the BG :tinysmile_shy_t:

About the teeth, they do look very nice and clean... Oh well, I overexposed a bit too much, subject was initially under a tree so more shade, as she got up and moved forward to face the warthogs the light changed :bg3:

Let me see what else I can find to process and post. Timing is important nowadays, with load shedding looming every few hours:2eyes2:

Warmest regards,

 

[Marc Mol]

Thanks for storyline Gabriela, everything works here, good detail and overall quality, the blood on her face completes the picture nicely.

TFS

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, love the sight profile and snarling look. DoF and sharpening all work and the fur illustrates well the 'wire wool' appearance. Agree with Andreas, looks a bit on the cool side, I might just up the Temp and more so the Tint, just also warms that green BKG too.

TFS
Steve

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hi Gabriela, love the sight profile and snarling look. DoF and sharpening all work and the fur illustrates well the 'wire wool' appearance. Agree with Andreas, looks a bit on the cool side, I might just up the Temp and more so the Tint, just also warms that green BKG too.

TFS
Steve

Thank you very much Steve, I so appreciate your feedback. Shall have another look at this image and send you an RP see what you think :w3