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Here Comes the Rain
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Here Comes the Rain

by Chetan Rangaraj

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 6, 2010232 views9 comments
The biggest male Leopard I have ever had privilege of seeing, bracing for a Monsoon shower. We thought this splendid chap might have been a Tiger when we first spotted him, but it wasn't to be. It's quite rare to see a Leopard on the ground in South India, but this chap wasn't even slightly perturbed about us being around.

Sincere apologies Lon. I've been trying to get my posts to comments ratio up, but being away for 4 days in the week, trying to get some shots of those elusive cats doesn't really help.

Thanks for taking a look.

EOS 7D + EF 500mm f4
ISO 640, 1/100s, f4.

Comments

9 comments
Comment posted by Andrew Sentipal on May 6, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Great capture. Beautiful animal.

Andrew :toast:
Registered on February 16, 2008, 200 Posts, 317 Comments
Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 6, 2010 at 9:14 PM
What a beauty. I encourage everyone to be sure to view the larger photo to appreciate detail, especially of the raindrop streaks. I very much like how there is enough distant background to give a soft zone with just a sprinkling of closer foliage to give a sense of the forest. The closed eyes makes for a memorable capture. I hope he offered some poses with eyes open, as well. Chetan, I am glad to hear we will be seeing your responses to other postings!! This forum is all about how by sharing we learn from one another, regardless of experience level....and clearly you have insight to share. :smile:
Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on May 7, 2010 at 12:20 AM
Beautiful leopard photo Chetan, the rain streaks add a lot. Personally I would have preferred an image with the eyes open I think as leopard (or most cats) have such wonderful eyes. Maybe a slight noise reduction on the BG will perfect this.
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by István Molnár on May 7, 2010 at 12:29 AM
Good work.
István :toast:
Registered on January 7, 2010, 114 Posts, 704 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Gomez on May 7, 2010 at 9:45 AM
Great image! The closed eyes and expression on the cats face really add to the feeling of him trying to accept the rain as a good thing.
:toast: :jump:
Registered on March 3, 2007, 206 Posts, 1853 Comments
Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on May 7, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Hello Chetan,
I love the mood of the situation here. The near dew point conditions make for a nice soft feeling and conveys the monsoon nicely. Although I really like the image as is, I wonder if sacrificing the tail and cropping the scene further to camera right would give the Leopard's laid back, disdain for rain, ears and facial expression more prominence by moving the head back towards the center a bit?
Cool shot!
Neil
Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments
Comment posted by Darren Colello on May 7, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Lovely image Chetan with wonderful detail, especially in the larger version. Well done!!
Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hackley on May 7, 2010 at 4:19 PM
A good job to get such detail during the rain and a pleasure to view the larger image, well done.
Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments
Comment posted by JACK NEAL on May 9, 2010 at 12:30 AM
Glad I looked at the larger picture! Good capture! I agree that the bg could stand some blur.
Thanks for posting.
Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments