Morning rest

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 23, 2015178 views8 comments

I digged this out from the archives, taken in 2011.

We found this leopard after being warned by an antelope and a group of giraffs about the presence of a predator. Following the pose of the animals we searched for quite a bit in the direction they were watching. Almost giving up we proceeded and then found the leopard in a tree a bit behind the "watchful" grass eaters...
Anyway, the leopard was investigating the antilope for a bit but with very low interest. After a while it left the tree and walked past our car and into the open. It was noticed by the giraffs who started a slow motion hunt, or herding, of the leopard for a bit. It was a quite nice show of leopard looking lazy and uncaring, but at the same time making sure to keep the distance to the closing group of giraffs. It ended when the leopard climbed another tree. I guess it needed a rest after the hard chase

That's when this shot was taken.

South Luangwa NP, Zambia
Canon EOS-1D Mark III
100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400
Shutter Speed: 1/50 Sec.
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 1000
Metering Mode: Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation: 0

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on February 23, 2015 at 8:49 PM

Perfect portrait of the leopard. I wish the bright OOF lights to the right of the head weren't there.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on February 23, 2015 at 11:15 PM

Gorgeous portrait and a very noble pose !

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on February 24, 2015 at 3:46 AM

Great pose n love those glossy eyes!
Like the tree as well, but those OOF lights in the Bg need to be tone down, I may also reduce the sharpness on the paws.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on February 24, 2015 at 11:29 AM

I really like this shot, but the white spots do detract a bit. I especially like the look at those large paws.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 24, 2015 at 11:45 PM

Facial detail is truly wonderful. I agree with the comments noting the background highlights are unfortunate.

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

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 25, 2015 at 10:17 PM

Great eye contact. I really like the sharpness and detail.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on February 26, 2015 at 8:33 PM

Nice portrait Johan. I agree with others about toning down the bright spots in the BG. Another thing I might do if it were mine is selectively bring up the exposure and add just a touch of saturation on the leopard to pul the eye back to your subject.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Johan Malmros on March 7, 2015 at 9:34 AM

Thanks for your helpful comments. I will definately try them out.

Registered on January 6, 2011, 20 Posts, 154 Comments