Leopard
Elusive, and beautiful, complimented by a rising sun.
Elusive, and beautiful, complimented by a rising sun.
Read less
Read less
Jan, 2018Views
145
Likes
Awards
Community Choice Award
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rank
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, near a Botswana campsite called Rooiputs.Time
This picture was taken very early morning in winter. Usually many visitors to the Park are still drinking their morning coffee, or pack up camp before leaving for their daily wildlife sighting trips. Me and my wife makes a habit of moving out of camp as soon as the gates are open - and this picture is the result thereof. Not knowing what to expect - and then, out of the blue, an elusive leopard just outside the camp as we left, was a very big surprise and actually the highlight of our whole visit of seven days in the park.Lighting
Getting up and leaving early, means that the morning sunlight will always help to make an animal sighting more special. It was the case with this picture as the sun was just up from the horizon giving the soft rim light effect.Equipment
Nikon D5, 600mm F4 Nikon lens, mounted on a Gimpro doormount of our car.Inspiration
A wildlife photographer is inspired by any form of wildlife in beautiful light. One's subject is not always sitting still and posing for the photographer, so part of the fun and hard work is to position yourself to quickly take a good picture with the right settings before the animal moves away. Being also the driver of the vehicle, means camera settings, focusing, maneuvering the car are all part of one coordinated effort to get a beautiful and a technical correct picture. In the park one may not leave the vehicle. So all in all - a picture of an elusive animal like this gives big pleasure and a sense of achievement when one get it right!Editing
Post processing on this picture was only the usual small corrections to bring out the colors more. The decision to take in portrait mode was also part of the decision making process since the animal came so near the vehicle at this stage that it was the better choice.In my camera bag
The 600mm lens for me as a wildlife enthusiast is always priority. My bag consist of shorter lenses and a wide angle also, a 1,4 convertor is also in the bag. I also do carry some alcohol swabs and rags to help keep the equipment dust free and the contacts clean since the park is an arid place.Feedback
Early out, and late in! You can sleep later :-) Try to get your settings according to the lighting conditions as near as possible correct and keep checking it during the day as the light changes. In a wildlife park, anything can happen at any moment and then you must be ready. Enjoy!
