Dining Leopard
We came across this Leopard eating a kill made earlier in the day which it had stored up in a tree to keep other carnivore's from eating. ...
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We came across this Leopard eating a kill made earlier in the day which it had stored up in a tree to keep other carnivore's from eating.
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Jan, 2015Views
3510
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Awards
Contest Finalist in The Animal Eye Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1
Contest Finalist in Exotic Wildlife Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in 300 Furry Friends Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Genius
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Laurie_Madsen
January 30, 2015
I LOVE THE DOF on this! The body spots blurred makes the face and eyes just POP! Sharp where it needs to be and softened just the right amount elsewhere! AWESOME!
PRO+
JoanLoBo
February 01, 2015
Super sharp...you can see his intensity to guard that kill in his eyes. wow
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RDVPhotography
February 15, 2015
Found this comment from you Joan and thought I had left a reply. I went to my inbox and see I did but now wondering why some replys appear below a commemnt and some do not?? Anyway think she was giving us the eye to make sure we did not take any of her meal :)
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Platinum
Teri_Reames
November 08, 2015
Congratulations ~ that makes you, my husband and myself all finalist in Exotic Wildlife Photo Contest. Good luck my friend. May the best woman win. hahahahahaha!!!!!!! :) No honestly, good luck!!!!!!
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RDVPhotography
August 07, 2016
Thanks again Carol appreciate all the likes, awards & comments. It is because of people like you that like my work that I have made the finals of contests
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken at Cheetah Plains Safari Camp in South Africa near Kruger National Park.Time
It was mid day and our guide got a tip from another guide that a mother leopard and her nine month old male cub returned to a kill which she had placed in a tree.Lighting
All natural lighting and nice that is was mid day as most times we were out on game drives it was early morning or late afternoon.Equipment
I used a Canon 50D with 300mm f/4 IS lens handheld but supported by a bean bag on the door of the vehicle. I was able to do this by hand as I had pushed the ISO up to 640 and used 1/200 sec, which is a little slow. Most photographers will use a shutter speed that is at least equal to the focal length of the telephoto lens being used. In my case that would have been 1/300 of a second. But with the support and IS capability of the lens I was able to shoot at a slightly slower speed and not have to increase ISO higher, which can result in digital noise.Inspiration
We watched this mother leopard and cub for over 20 minutes and I must have taken 50-100 shots. This was a keeper because of the focus on her eyes. I was after that stare and a look directly into the lens for this shot and finally got it. I have several other images of them climbing the tree. I also took some video with my 5D-MkII and it is on my YouTube Channel Titled: Cheetah Plains Safari Camp South Africa-Part 1 here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LAvX9US5bIEditing
I use Lightroom for processing all of my RAW files. I start with Lens correction then crop the image as desired and straighten if needed. After that I am working in the Basics section adjusting White Balance if needed then adjusting Highlights, Shadows, Whites & Blacks. Then I go to the Tone Curve and colors for any fine adjustments there. My final step is if there is any sky in a photo where look for spots from the camera sensor. Finally I do noise reduction as needed and sharpen the image for its purpose, either print or web.In my camera bag
On this trip carried one bag due to weight and space limit. In it I had both a wide angle telephoto and prime telephoto lens and had the wide angle mounted on my 5D-MkII and the prime telephoto on my 50D. Also had a tripod and various filters such as CP, Grad ND and ND along with extra batteries, chargers and about a dozen CF Cards.Feedback
We were lucky in retrospect as we were able to get very close to the subject, about 20-30 feet away. At times I switched from the 50D with 300mm lens to the 5D with 24-105 lens just to keep from over filling the frame. This was my first trip to Africa and I think what I took worked well in most situations. Be patient, take lots of shots and listen to your guide above all else.
