Leopard at Dusk


Posted by clement on Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:05 pm

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D4, 500mm f4, 1/5 shutters at ISO 3200..
Our ever alert driver Henry from Entim Mara Camp spotted this beauty very close to the resort when we were returning after the evening drive at around 7PM. It was almost shot in darkness where I was not able to see the leopard properly through the view finder.. but modern cameras come to your rescue.. D4 got this picture for me. In ViewNX2 I incresed the exposure by 1.5stops to take out the darkness.. I was surprised by the quality of this keeper even in such bad conditions.. Yes I did apply neatimage to the BG.


Last edited by clement on Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Carol Clarke on Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:08 am
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The pose seems relaxed - but the eyes and ears tell us that this beautiful cat is very alert! Lovely image Clement.
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by Matthew Pugh on Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:42 am
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Hi

A good looking image of this beautiful cat - and such a treat when you thought your day was over!

Thanks for sharing
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by mvsneary on Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:09 pm
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Great steadiness of hand!! Judging by those widely dilated pupils it was for sure dark!!

Technical question - tripod/bean bag, shutter delay, mirror-up...? Or any tips for helping achieve maximum sharpness with such a slow ss/focal length combination.

Thanks for sharing

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by clement on Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:05 pm
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mvsneary wrote:Great steadiness of hand!! Judging by those widely dilated pupils it was for sure dark!!

Technical question - tripod/bean bag, shutter delay, mirror-up...? Or any tips for helping achieve maximum sharpness with such a slow ss/focal length combination.

Thanks for sharing

Martin
Martin thanks for those kind words.

Answer to your question :  Just rested the lens on the window and kept firing the shots.. I have done this even in the himalayas here in India and it works.. due to the 10 fps of the D4, let it be what ever the shutter speed.. when you continuously take shots.. out of 30 images, surely 10 come good.. surely the subject also has to be a bit still and you need to control your breathing (stop breathing while clicking the images)..
I love leopards and they seldom give you a chance.. so when you get an opportunity to click.. just fire those shots and hope that few images will come good :-)

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by mvsneary on Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:51 pm
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Sounds like a good plan!!! The breathing one is def worth keeping in mind. I tend to shot at the end of an exhale when using lower shutter speeds - unless excitement gets the better of me!!!

Thanks

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by Gary Briney on Sat Jan 31, 2015 5:42 pm
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Lovely capture -- maybe just touch more contrast to add life to the eyes.
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by Missy Mandel on Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:11 pm
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Clement,this image is so beautiful.
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by Marc on Fri Feb 20, 2015 6:23 pm
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Love the pose with pleasing BG here Clement, although I wonder why you didn't up the ISO to at least 6400+ for increased S/S as we both know the D4 could easily handle it, might look at reducing the blue in the whites of the leopard a little for mine also.
Impressive sharpness for 1/5 all the same. :wink:
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