Hidden Hunter

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 27, 2013297 views14 comments

Keeping with some monochrome images I've not posted here before...

This is from the far northern Kruger National Park. I mentioned previously how I love capturing a truly wild leopard. As much as I enjoy the proximity and images you can achieve in a place like the Sabi Sands where you are almost driven up the leopard's backside, it's the thrill of finding your own skittish leopard that is not accustomed to vehicles that gets my heart racing even more.

This youngster was hiding in a thicket after mom went off hunting. We had just missed them sitting by the roadside for an hour (I was shooting vultures on an elephant carcass, go figure) and when we arrived they were gone. The people that were parked there moved off, and I told my wife to check again (she has the better pair of eyes)...soon enough she spotted this guy lying down in the mopani thickets. He eventually moved into a palm thicket and peeked out the other side, where I fired off a few frames.

What do you think? I converted to stark B&W here as it shows the leopard's eyes better, gets rid of the colourful leaves in the FG that are distracting, and conveys the mood I wanted to portray.

He's watching you!

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0 @ 1/800 SS @ ISO-450
cropped from horizontal

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on January 27, 2013 at 8:15 PM

Morkel. Love the b/w. I might almost be tempted to say crop in....find that spot showing just the eyes...might be even more dramatic!

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 27, 2013 at 8:26 PM

I find this to be a very powerful image. I like the B&W conversion and presentation. Nicely done.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on January 27, 2013 at 9:30 PM

Makes for compelling viewing!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 28, 2013 at 1:45 AM

Hi Morkel, I agree with your decision to present this in black and white. The contrast in lighting with the brightest area being the face gives a lot of attention to that area, the eyes in particular. I'm not sure you actually need the large dark frame around the photograph, I think there is enough darkness peripherally to make the point.

( p.s. I'd probably be ok happily shooting vultures on an elephant, but I understand - Leopards trump that by a wide margin. Never a dull moment shooting in Africa !!! )

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Cristina Strudthof on January 28, 2013 at 10:03 AM

This is a great capture and different take on the typical leopard shot. The brush is nice and blurred yet the cat is tack sharp. You can actually see the cat's unease in the placement of the ears. Good stuff.

Registered on January 14, 2011, 53 Posts, 363 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on January 28, 2013 at 12:11 PM

Beautifully crafted Morkel ..love the BE very effective

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 28, 2013 at 2:15 PM

Neat black and white, which really accents the mood. I was wondering about the heaviness of the square crop, until Gary's comment pointed out the black frame. My taste would be to eliminate the frame.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on January 28, 2013 at 2:21 PM

Thanks for your kind comments and feedback, folks.
The "black frame" is part of how NPN displays the photos? Upon uploading you choose a colour - black, white or custom, to make a frame around your subject...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Clinton Bauder on January 28, 2013 at 5:18 PM

Hi Morkel,

I really like this. B&W works very well to highlight the eyes and spots of the leopard. No nits from me. Well done.

Clinton

Registered on December 8, 2009, 31 Posts, 231 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 29, 2013 at 7:41 AM

The eyes definitely have it here. Nice job, Morkel. I had shot a Florida Panther in the wild and had problems with foilage also. I'll try a BW conversion on it. Works great with this image.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on January 30, 2013 at 3:52 AM

Morkel, this is fantastic. Very strong, evocative image, dramatically enhanced by your B&W conversion. I think the image would ALSO be solid cropped even tighter, but as an alternate comp...I don't think this would necessarily be improved by moving the margins in, and actually wondered if just eliminating the black border (frame) here would make me change my mind about bothering to do this at all!

In any event, this is a powerful image and wonderful capture. The eyes are exquisite and mesmerizing and have a tremendous quality to them.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on February 2, 2013 at 8:37 AM

I absolutely love this one Morkel! I think it portrays the mystery and intensity of the leopard much better than a full body, in the open shot would. Just the image sends the hairs on my neck into attention, I only hope to be so lucky as to see a leopard like this on our own like you did.