Hidden Hunter

Congratulations! This is the Image of the Week selection for the Wildlife Gallery, week ending 14th September, 2012!Sorry for keeping on posting monochrome/duotone images, but as I said I am working up a new series and having a blast in the process

This is from the far northern Kruger National Park. I mentioned previously how I love capturing a truly wild leopard. As much as I enjoy the proximity and images you can achieve in a place like the Sabi Sands where you are almost driven up the leopard's backside, it's the thrill of finding your own skittish leopard that is not accustomed to vehicles that gets my heart racing even more.

This youngster was hiding in a thicket after mom went off hunting. We had just missed them sitting by the roadside for an hour (I was shooting vultures on an elephant carcass, go figure ) and when we arrived they were gone. The people that were parked there moved off, and I told my wife to check again (she has the better pair of eyes)...soon enough she spotted this guy lying down in the mopani thickets. He eventually moved into a palm thicket and peeked out the other side, where I fired off a few frames.

What do you think? I converted to stark B&W here as it shows the leopard's eyes better, gets rid of the colourful leaves in the way that distract, and conveys the mood I wanted to portray.

Techs:
Nikon D3s with Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0 @ 1/800 SS @ ISO-450
cropped from horizontal

I like this one a lot! No apologies necessary for the B&W images. They are a refreshing change.

SFJ

I love the treatment. Very well done! (and a nice change of pace).

Have you considered cropped it a bit? My eyes end up being drawn to the dark lower left corner. It's a shame to have that corner compete with the very cool peek-a-boo comp you have.

Cheers!

Love it!

All we need are those eyes Morkel, great shot from a difficult situation....and I know all about grass and trees in Kruger.

I love these type shots Morkel, the eyes can be so compelling when the remainder of the animal is hidden in the undergrowth, and it speaks volumes on their secretive nature!

Very nice, love the sharpness/stare. I would also trim some of the OOF stuff at the bottom perhaps....

Stunning image -- love the b/w treatment!

Never apologize for great work!! This image in my opinion brings out the persona
of a big stealthy cat. Love it.

Thanks a lot for the great feedback folks...

This is great Morkel, love it!

Keep the mono stuff coming, I love this!

Thanks Cindy and David!

This image is really quite powerful Morkel !

Thanks Marina!