Cheetah Trio

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 30, 2013159 views11 comments

In August I spent a week in Morkel's favorite place: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. It was a nice change of pace compared to my previous African safari experiences. I really enjoyed seeing several new species and a completely different environment, but I did find it tough going at times when it came to photo ops.

It had been a while since I'd had good cheetah sightings on a trip, so I was looking forward to seeing them in the KTP. We were fortunate to see six cheetahs in all... but none of them really cooperated. So I had to be pleased that, despite the distance, I was able to capture an interesting photo of this trio. We came across them on one of the northern roads, at which point they were already descending the tree and heading away from us. These may be three brothers (which Morkel had mentioned in the scouting notes he sent me prior to the trip), but I cannot be sure since we never saw them up close.

On this occasion I've provided a larger version since the subjects are quite small in the frame.

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 800
1/1600th
f/8

Max

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on January 30, 2013 at 12:33 PM

Max, cool shot. What about a sepia tone... ??

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

Comment posted by Clinton Bauder on January 30, 2013 at 3:05 PM

Hi Max,

Neat photo. Well captured. It works like a sequence - climbing out of bed, wondering where to get coffee, and out the door on the way to work.

I like the light on the fur of the tummy of the cheetah in the tree. Also stopping down works well here to give context to the environment. All 3 cheetahs are easy to see despite the trees.

Black and white looks great but I'd love to see a color version as well.

Clinton

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

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on January 30, 2013 at 3:05 PM

Max this is an outstanding shot. The cheetah descending from the tree seals the deal!!!

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Tim Butler on January 30, 2013 at 3:14 PM

I REALLY like this as a BW image! Superb framing IMO.

Registered on October 12, 2012, 17 Posts, 155 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on January 30, 2013 at 3:49 PM

Well, I love this Max. Okay, I'm biased to images from the Kgalagadi, but really this shows off the iconic camelthorn landscape of the northern Nossob river so well. You've framed the cheetahs nicely too - the rim-light on the one descending is tops, and the other 2 are nicely 'framed' by the fallen stumps deeper in the BG. Good tonal range throughout...though I feel a very slight sepia/coffee tint might add a bit more tonal depth overall?

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

Comment posted by John Clulow on January 30, 2013 at 7:08 PM

Supurb image, especially in monochrome.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 31, 2013 at 1:48 AM

Max the smaller version honestly didn't do much for me. However, the larger view was a real eye-opener. I really like the way the tree acts as an umbrella filling the upper portion of the frame and uniting all the elements beneath it. Morkel is obviously very familiar with the area and its ecology and has done a nice job summing up the virtues of the image technically and esthetically. I can't wax poetically as some aficionados of black and white photography do about their art, but darn it looks good!

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

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on January 31, 2013 at 8:32 AM

Very cool.

Ditto on the rim light. Needs no toning for me. I'd crop one tree off the left though. Camelthorn trees are da bomb!

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 1, 2013 at 8:39 AM

Hi Max,

Very nice - excellent graphic appeal on this one. That tree frames the two cheetahs so well. To be honest, I could even live without the third cheetah in this image (the one descending the tree), but it certainly doesn't detract. Well done.

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 3, 2013 at 11:13 AM

Terrific moment, well interpreted in B&W. I think that overall the tree feels "heavy" detracting a bit from the cheetahs. In my opinion a crop on the left will reduce that heaviness considerably. I would make it at the edge of the open space behind the third cheetah in the tree, sending the diagonal of the trunk out the upper right corner.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on February 3, 2013 at 11:45 AM

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I agree with the sentiment that the left end of this feels "heavy," and will try some alternate crops to see if I can eliminate the dark left edge without messing with the overall balance.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments