PRO+

valerioleone

Male Cheetah

A male cheetah enjoying the last rays of sun in the Karas region, Namibia.

A male cheetah enjoying the last rays of sun in the Karas region, Namibia.
Read less

NIKON D600

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 100 Shutter 1/2000 Focal Length 2000/10

upload_date

May, 2017

Views

1454

Likes

+276

Awards

Featured

Peer Award

+468

Absolute Masterpiece

+13

Superb Composition

+11

Top Choice

+11

Magnificent Capture

Outstanding Creativity

All Star

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

Flying with an helicopter over the Okawango Delta, Botswana, we met these group of Thomson's Gazelle running in the shallow water.

A beautiful cheetah walking toward me. This wonderful animal is normally not aggressive

Me and my brother in law followed these 2 cheetas for over 2 hours, hoping for the right light and a nice pose. Finally I got this one. We were in Nam

Namibia, Africa; this is the Namib Desert seen from the helicopter and from the Atlantic Ocean side, about an hour before sunset.

Begining of the Kalahari desert, Namibia. A nice cheetah walking toward me. These beautiful animals are not very aggressive and, with carful, people c

Mesquite dunes in Death Valley, California. Beautiful dunes in a rocky desert at sunrise

A Pagoda or Stupa in Bagan, Myanmar, seen while flying on a hot air balloon.

Dead trees in the area of Sossusvlei, Namib desert, Namibia

A group of young Bushmen in Namibia explaining how they used to hunt to survive.

Toward the end of the day, on the way from Tarangire Nat'l Park to Ngorongoro, I found this little boy from the Masai Tribe taking care of his ca

Crossing quiet a long part of the Namib desert, in the center-west of Namibia. Me and a part of my family with two Pick-ups. A narrow sandy road in th

This perfect dune is part of the Mesquite dunes area in Death Valley National Park, California.

Namibia. The red sand of the Sossusvlei dunes gets golden when approaching the Atlantic Ocean. Namib Desert is the oldest desert on earth.

A yawning young lioness on top of a little hill in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. From that point she can see far, far away, if she doesn&#039

Mesquite dunes, just a while after sunrise

Lost in a wonderful Polynesian sunset of mid January

Discover more photos See all

Fields of Fire on The Seiser Alm.

The Schlern in the center of the photo is a mountain in the Dolomites in South Tyrol Italy.
A two shot landscape by Richard-Beresford-Harris

A small praying mantis [Ameles spec.] in the early morning. No image manipulation - retouching. by HenrikSpranz

Two elk practicing fighting by Ayersphotography

This is Buzz. Buzz loves snow. by onedadandhiscamera

Scuba diving in Lehua, Hawaii by Guillaume

Two black-backed jackals from the Masai Mara National Reserve by anitarossview

My little staffy in a boat :) by schrammy

Doe peeking at me from behind another deer. She's probably wondering what I'm doing on the ground. by jenalynnphotography

As the sun was setting over the Brooks River, I unintentionally distracted this Alaska Brown from her fishing duties. I don't know what it was ab by FalconEddie

Early morning trout fest on the Spring River in Arkansas. Love it early as the sun comes to shew away the fog. by kennyhimes

Behind The Lens

Location

This picture was taken in the Karas Region, not too far from the town of Keetmanshoop, in Namibia.

Time

Best pictures usually are taken in the early morning or at sunset. This picture in particular was taken just a while after sunrise of a South African winter morning.

Lighting

Morning time is very good for the light. The sun was not high yet and its light was coming from the left, giving that sort of light and shade effect.

Equipment

I took this shot with a Nikon D600. The lens was a Nikor 70/200 f2,8. No tripod, no flash, just natural light.

Inspiration

Me and my brother in law woke up very early that day. We walked in the bush knowing a few cheetas were around and started looking for them. The light was very good when we met this lazy cheetah relaxing in the middle of a path. When she heard us she just lift up her head, still with sleeping eyes. Quickly, I grab the camera and took this shot.

Editing

I am absolutely not good with post-processing. All I normally do is to adjust the light in camera raw and cropping parts which may disturb the eyes from the main subject.

In my camera bag

My camera is a not too young Nikon D600, but still working fine. The lenses I always have in my camera bag are: Nikor 24/70mm f/2,8 and Nikor 70/200mm f/2,8. They are simply excellent and they cover quiet a wide range of possibilities for far away or close subjects. What I also sometime use is a fixed Nikor 14mm f/2,8, excellent for wide angle pictures.

Feedback

Wildlife photography requires early morning wake up, or waiting for the sunset time. This for the best light and for the possibility to see some action. It also requires a lot of patient. You may soon find a beautiful animal, but if he is sleeping, no worth taking a picture. You must wait till he decides to do something like: standing, looking at you, walking toward you, playing, mating, hunting or anything else that may be worth a picture.

See more amazing photos, follow valerioleone

valerioleone

valerioleone

Male Cheetah