Leopard posing

[Andreas Liedmann]

• Andreas Liedmann
• Andreas Liedmann
• Capture One 20 Macintosh

Hi folks ... i also like to post a cat !!!

The Leopard , not my best friend , when it comes to sightings . Have not seen many so far , apart from the trip to Botswana with Anette in 2018 . Seeing and getting decent images ... another story :w3:bg3:
Well nevertheless i got this guy in Etosha at Klein Namoutoni waterhole , i would have passed him but luckily other folks spotted him in the bushes . After a while he started to move and climbed that dead tree for a better view . So i took the opportunity for some shots ... as there were some cars around i had to make funny body moves to get a shooting angle . Image is not 100 % sharp .... i guess due to my strange kit holding technique .
I pushed the color and tones a bit ... for a more punchy look .
Hope you like it , wish the BG was not that busy , but it was the leopards choice .

Canon EOS 1Dx
EF 500 IS L II + 1,4 TC
HH with some car window support ( somehow)

F 6,3 ; Iso 5000 ; 1/1600 sec ; man exp and auto iso

Processed with C1 and PSCC 2020 ; slightly cropped

Thanks for looking and commenting to my previous psoting

Cheers Andreas

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Andreas, it looks too punchy for my taste sorry to say, I think your conventional colours would have been better.
I accept the setting, I don't see much in point complaining about it because that's what it was.

 

[John Mack]

Well bet you were glad you caught this leopard. My eye is really drawn to the sun lit vegetation in the right of the frame. Tough conditions but you did well here in my book.

 

[haseeb badar]

Hi Andreas -- Nice pose and liked that attentive pose from the Leopard. A pretty shy cat and i too have not been very lucky with them.

I liked the way you have used the settings to your advantage with back-lighting adding some colours to the scene. Not very ideal settings though but you have done quite well in creating a nice image. Tonality is quite good and your processing skills have managed a decent frame out of difficult scenario.

Not quite your usual high standards in terms of IQ but still I enjoyed viewing this image.

TFS !

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andreas, a Leopard is always nice, especially when posing like this. The BKG is what it is and personally I might have shot it differently in terms of set-up and pushed it more in the dramatic sense, but just my take. Love the gaze and framing. Camera techs look good, but as presented my thought would be just to open up the tree trunk a bit more, it's a bit heavy and there is some nice detail irrespective of shade.

Nice one.

TFS
Steve

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks so much folks for your kind comments , much appreciated .

Jon - just my take in this case , might not meet your thinking . No problem though .

John - nothing i could do with the eye drawn to the lighter parts , toning down the lights would not really help , it is just the nature of this frame IMHO.

Haseeb - i do not see any IQ issue . Maybe a matter of taste in terms of color and light .

Steve - from my POV not possible to shoot it differently in terms of position . How would you have pushed in more drama ? The trunk ... well it was lighter in the raw , toned it down as i felt it was competing with subject , due to its structure . Just my thinking behind the processing .... but there are for sure other ways , as many times when it comes to taste of images.

Thanks again , Andreas

 

[Steve Kaluski]

The BKG is what it is and personally I might have shot it differently in terms of set-up

Steve - from my POV not possible to shoot it differently in terms of position

Camera set-up, not position.

BTW I might get may hands on the MK3 tomorrow, if you have a question drop me an email.

 

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Andreas, a Leopard is always special! I like the subject pose and eye contact. I guess a vertical framing would have helped emphasise on the subject as the BG is not adding much and is a bit distracting as its more vibrant and draws the eye.

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Sanjeev thanks for your comment !!... i understand your point about the framing , but that would mean pixel bashing :w3 .... not for me though !!!

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hey Steve ... you lucky dude :w3

How would you have set up the camera ?

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Good evening Andreas,

A bit late to comment... My apologies. But would you agree, the thorn tree in the BG has stolen some of the limelight from the subject... Although I must admit, the leopard is vey sharp and detail is really lovely, nice colours too :w3

My thoughts tonight, a true Naturalist would marvel at the capability of camouflage from the species and not complain about the brightness in the background. Not surprised you did not spot this leopard Andreas, surely those people who saw him first did so even before he climbed up the tree?

Techs look about right and subject itself is well exposed. This image reminds me of Rosetta - do you remember her climbing up the tree and calling her cub in KTP (2012) ? :S3:

You did well to capture the scene, as well as process the frame to the best of your abilities. In all honesty I cannot think of anything to improve this, just assuming that perhaps a darker or more underexposed BG, besides adding a degree of drama, might help take this to another level. Have not tried anything Boetie, only back home today and catching up with things:tinysmile_shy_t:

Glad you had nice sightings on this trip, and I bet it was great fun as well :w3 Also curious on how Steve would have set up the camera:t3

Kind regards,