charlielynam
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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Contest Finalist in The Wonders of the World Photo Contest
Featured
Member Selection Award
Photographer of the month!
Contest Finalist in Evocative Wildlife Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 14
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
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janicejh
October 31, 2016
Incredible shot! Love how he poses on the branch for you. LOL Simply wonderful! I look forward to following and learning from you!
charlielynam
November 01, 2016
How kind Janice, thank you. This was taken in Etosha Nat. Park, Namibia. There were 4 playful cubs and Mummy!
charlielynam
November 01, 2016
Thank you, it was very early morning and the backlight was just perfect or is that puffect?! This was taken in Etosha Nat. Park, Namibia. There were 4 playful cubs and Mummy!
charlielynam
November 01, 2016
Thank you, it was very early morning and the backlight was just perfect or is that puffect?! This was taken in Etosha Nat. Park, Namibia. There were 4 playful cubs and Mummy!
overthehillfan2004
November 04, 2016
How incredible for you to have been there to witness that. And how wonderful for us, that you brought such an incredible shot back to share...Thank you..?
Eduardbetz
November 04, 2016
I love the light, colors and the posture of the animal....an award truly deserved.Congratulations !
overthehillfan2004
November 06, 2016
OMG!!! I am so very happy this WON! I was really rooting for you. It's a stunning shot, and as I said before. How wonderful that you were there, and share with us.
charlielynam
December 05, 2021
Thanks to everyone for your kind words, I'n sure this little cheetah would be delighted!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I was on a 5 month trip through Africa and travelling through Etosha National Park, Namibia. Etosha is a very special place with ancient salt pans, beautiful scenery and an incredible plethora of wildlife, from the Black Rhino to Flamingoes. It has the most entertaining waterholes in all of Africa where one can watch a magnificent procession of animals come to drink like lions, elephants, rhino, leopards and cheetahs, not to mention the array of ungulates that turn up!Time
This was first thing in the morning, around 06:30 am. I was en route to the western side of the park, turned a corner and had a wonderful surprise of a mother and four cheetah cubs staring straight at me. They seemed pretty relaxed so I just turned off the engine, gave them their space and watched events unfold. The cubs were in playful mood, under the watch of mother and started climbing the Acacia Thorn tree in the photo. This particular cub climbed the highest and struck this perfect (or is that purrfect!) pose.Lighting
I was very fortunate that there was sufficient backlighting for this time of day and opened to my widest aperture of f2.8, which helped create a nice even and subdued bokeh. The cub made things easy, he/she was the best model you could wish for! I do not use flash (or very rarely) so it's all natural lighting.Equipment
This was taken on Canon 7D with a Canon 300mm prime lens. I made the photo on f2.8, 1/500sec and used a Kirk window mount to provide stability for the shot. The 300mm prime is fast and incredibly sharp, it has to be my favourite lens for wildlife photography.Inspiration
Just being in the wilds and the Africa bush provides me with all the inspiration and stimulation I could ever wish for. My raison d'etre is to create awareness, understanding and appreciation of the wilds and wildlife in my viewers from behind the lens . I believe that capturing the natural beauty of the planet through visual media provides a powerful and compelling means in supporting conservation and preservation initiatives that are imperative to the sustainability of wild places.Editing
At the core of my post processing is Adobe Lightroom. I also use a number of unique Plug Ins such as On1 and Topaz which allow me further additional poetic license, depending on what message I'm attempting to portray. I use these tools to help deliver my actual real experience in the field and overcome some of the limitations of camera. I occasionally use composites but normally only for bracketed images, ensuring correct exposure from foreground to background. The key is to do your best to get it right in camera. To this end I work hard to get the composition, lighting (sometimes using filters), temperature, background (especially for wildlife) and any special effects (such as panning / blur) correct in camera.In my camera bag
I normally have 4 bodies available. They are Canon 1D Mk 3, Canon 5D MK 3 with the following Canon lenses attached - 70-200mm f2.8, 300mm prime f2.8, 500mm prime f4.0 and 17-40mm zoom. I have a Feisol monopod and tripod. A range of Lee Filters, a 1.4 converter, a 100mm macro lens for the small stuff and a remote control.Feedback
Yes, for wildlife make sure you're an early riser! I do most of my photography in the golden hours when the animals are most active. Pay attention to lighting and background and do try and avoid cluttered backgrounds to make your subject pop. Have respect for your subjects, read up on them, anticipate their next move and give them space. Stay with your subjects as long as you can so you can experience and capture their behaviour when they have become used to your presence. Have an idea of what you want to capture before going into the field so you can create the image you want to portray e.g. speed with panning, bokeh with backlighting and wide aperture, texture etc. Watch out for dust, I never change lenses in the field - especially Africa! Don't be shy to bracket when you are confronted with exposure challenges, requiring wide dynamic range.