The king on his throne
by Carole Deschuymere
I found this leopard in Chobe NP, Botswana. He was lying there very relaxed, his mother behind some bushes. I was so lucky to find them, without any tourist cars nearby. For half hour I could take all the shots i wanted, and the leopard didn't mind. it was like he was posing. I felt like the luckiest girl on earth... Then the tourists arrived and the leopards vanished into the bushes
Canon 1D mark IV
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 800
1/500 sec
Comments
22 commentsIt's a very nice portrait. The muted light and that background are great for this subject. About the only thing I'd prefer to see is a bit more space on the left side. It's a bit tight over there near the paw, especially compared to the empty space on the right side, so the balance of the image is thrown off a bit in my mind. This would also move the leopard to the right in the frame a bit, creating a nice diagonal spanning the lower left third (paw) to the upper right third (head and ears).
Max
Congrats
D&L
Really awesome image! The detail looks fine to me. I love his pose, and him staring straight at you is just awesome. I also really like the DOF. The bokeh looks really nice.
Another thing I love about the image is that it looks like the Leopard has a little mohawk
Great title for the image, too!
Young cats are interesting to watch over time, in their Physical developments, as filling out and developing character in their Very Expressive Eyes. Seems quite relaxed, ( Not threatened by your quiet movements) And his mood relates well to a Very Pleasing portrait. Not much to suggest for improvement ... But if this was my Image(& you have the room) I would like a small amount of more room at the ends of his paws, So as Not so close to the border. What is your Crop ? Hanheld ?
Thanks for Sharing this Fine Image!!
Bill
I love the clean look here (no vegetation) and the stare with the great use of DOF. Soft light brought out all the detail you need. I do feel overall the image has a bit of a green cast to it and if it were mine I would warm up the WB slightly...
Max
Max
Congrats on the WP (Weekly Pick) - quite a feat on a first post!
Looking forward to more of your images -
Sandy