Don't you just think cheetah cubs are the cutest bundles of fluff ever? This little one was photographed at Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sands (South Africa) earlier this year.
I'm curious - who would have liked more space on the left here? This is pretty much full frame as shot and I liked the poses and symmetry here more than just having a cub staring into space without mom. I'd love your thoughts on the composition here - let me hear how you perceive the image as presented...
Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/400 SS | ISO-2800
Comments
8 commentsHi Morkel,
I like this image as is. The sharp focus on the cub drew my eye into the scene. I like the diagonal of the mother's back her face overlooking the entire scene
. This is one image that must go against conventional photo composition................Jim
I really love this. My only nit is that the mother is OOF. I know some will see the benefit of that, but for me it would be more powerful if mom was in focus.
What makes this photo is the little one. I have no problem with the out of focus mother; it actually emphasizes the importance of the cub. So darn cute. That's where the eye should be drawn and that's where it is.
Morkel.
Always nice to see an image of one of Africa's mist beautiful creatures.
For me the composition just does not work well, the OOF bits including the mother are distracting, and some looks oversharpened.
More space on the left eliminating the mother would for me have been far better, but everybody has different ideas.
Hi Morkel,
Regardless of the composition the uber-high cute factor alone makes this image work. Hard not to love the image however it's composed!
In answer to your question of who would have liked more space on the left - well...I think you can count me in that group (of wanting the extra space). To me the strength of the image is the cub and those eyes, and including mom's head isn't really necessary (I think most would assume it's mom body the cub is using) and, given it's out-of-focus anyway, I can see the argument that her head is a bit of a distraction.
Perhaps I'm overly picky on your images (given the high quality of them), but the other thing that stands out for me is the lower-contrast vertical band on mom's fur just below and to our right of the cub's head (almost like you were focussing through something there). A very slight selective bump in contrast in that region would make that go away in a flash (not sure if you'd be comfortable making this adjustment...but thought I'd mention it anyway).
Thanks for sharing this one...and cheers...
Brad
Hello Morkel, Yes Very Cute bundles! good selective focus here to accentuate the cub with Mom looking on.
Bill
Thanks folks...
Good observation, Brad. I was shooting through some dry grass here, which can be seen "in front of" mom. I'll try selectively bumping contrast there. There was also significant foliage to the left, which also influenced the framing.
Really neat capture, Morkel. Include me as one who noticed the vertical low contast band that Brad mentions. I, too, think the cub is key, and could easily see this as a vertical presentation of just the youngster resting on a carpet of mom.