Leopard or spiderman?

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 24, 20101,172 views23 comments

Went to Kabini last fortnight with family (wife and two sons), about 230 km (about 140 miles) southwest of Bangalore, where I reside. Over the 5 days we spent there, we had 9 leopard sightings! This female was sitting on a tree, barely 50 yards away from the track. As more vehicles drew up, she got a little jittery and decided to climb down. As she turned to begin her descent, she slipped and had to hold onto the trunk of the tree with her claws, sending a shower of bark flying down. At this moment she looked like Spiderman!
Location: Kabini, (Nagarhole NP), Karnataka, India
Date: May 2010
Equip: Canon 50D, Canon 300 f2.8 with 2.0 TC
Specs: ISO 500, f5.6, 1/200s, beanbag on vehicle

Thank you for taking the time out to look, and for your comments/critiques

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Brandon Sideleau on May 24, 2010 at 8:59 AM

Just love the colors and contrast here Ajit.....a truly magnificent creature.

Registered on October 6, 2006, 79 Posts, 173 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 24, 2010 at 9:37 AM

Great action shot, thanks for sharing. Without the story behind the photo you get the impression she is about to have photographer for lunch!

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on May 24, 2010 at 10:52 AM

Great action and eye contact. Man, those paws look huge and powerful! By the angle of the tree, it almost appears as if she is knocking it down with the force of her movements.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on May 24, 2010 at 11:29 AM

Cool image, Ajit.
I have a sneaking suspicion we will be seeing more leopards soon

.
This really shows the power and size of those shoulders. The blurred bark ices the intensity of her alarm.
My only wish would be for the tail to curl back in.
Well Done!
Neil

Congratulations on your EP! Well Done.

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on May 24, 2010 at 12:09 PM

Great pose (like a kung fu ) n terrific setting !
Flying wood chips are adding up to action ! I find the composition bit central and feel that you can easily improve it to much greater effect.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 24, 2010 at 7:04 PM

What a great dynamic posture! And on top of that, she gave you that enthralling direct stare. Exposure and processing look superb. Background elements make the composition challenging and I am not sure how I would have framed this, but one thing I see is that ALL the trees seem to be leaning left, which makes me think (regardless of the reality on site) that the image needs some leveling. I would try using one of the two oof background trees as a vertical guide and see how it looks. It would make her hold on the tree even more precarious!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 25, 2010 at 6:58 AM

Ajit, First let me say,this is the most action packed Leopard shot I think I have seen. I think you can turn it from really, really good to great with a couple of small steps. This si just one guys opinion (and maybe more based on reading Lon's comments now). I would give this a slight CW rotation. Looks like everything is leaning a bit left to my eye. Also, I might crop a tiny bit off the right or left (your preference here) top and bottom to make this not so centered as others have also suggested. Other than that, this is simply TERRIFIC! BTW, I have a friend that lives in Bagalore also named Ajit.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on May 25, 2010 at 10:53 AM

Excellent shot, I like everything about it, exposure and detail are right on, the larger image is impressive, great timing to get this, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by JACK NEAL on May 25, 2010 at 1:08 PM

What a great shot! Lots of action and she is looking right at the lens! Good color and good back ground. Thanks for posting!

Registered on September 26, 2009, 131 Posts, 554 Comments

Comment posted by Subharghya Das on May 25, 2010 at 2:38 PM

Should I say Spider-Woman :) Love the action and the flying wood-chips here

Registered on March 18, 2009, 26 Posts, 195 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on May 25, 2010 at 5:56 PM

What a superb leopard image. I love everything about it. Great timing Ajit.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Michael VanBeber on May 25, 2010 at 10:48 PM

Spectacular catch! Every thing about this is just awesome!

Registered on February 27, 2009, 34 Posts, 183 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 25, 2010 at 11:23 PM

Ajit, I went back and looked at this again. I think the trees are playing tricks with the CW rotation I suggested. I took the eyes and they seem to be very level. Plus, it gave me an excuse to look at this again

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Pramod Viswanath on May 26, 2010 at 3:43 AM

Looking at the saturation, I guess Kabini had some showers amidst scorching summer here down South. Beautiful image and love the look in its eyes!

Registered on December 4, 2008, 60 Posts, 697 Comments

Comment posted by Onno de Rover on May 27, 2010 at 4:30 AM

Stunning shot... it's crackling with tension and you wonder what it was behind you the leopard was looking at. I love the razorsharp focus of the eyes... well done

Registered on December 29, 2009, 38 Posts, 63 Comments

Comment posted by Sam Rua on May 28, 2010 at 11:17 PM

Super capture, Ajit.

Registered on September 9, 2006, 130 Posts, 2281 Comments

Comment posted by Joe James on May 28, 2010 at 11:23 PM

Awesome photo! Definitely the most action packed leopard shot I've ever seen. Only thing I would do would be to crop it a bit more off center as some have suggested but that's just personal preference. Great job and thanks for sharing this one.

Registered on November 20, 2009, 89 Posts, 808 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on May 29, 2010 at 2:20 AM

Fantastic shot, Ajit.

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on June 1, 2010 at 6:25 PM

Amazing photo... congrats on the WP

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Miro Susta on June 2, 2010 at 1:55 AM

Excellent snap shot Ajit! congrats on the EP.

Registered on August 18, 2006, 719 Posts, 3736 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 3, 2010 at 3:33 PM

Congrats on the EP Ajit! Very well deserved!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 3, 2010 at 9:52 PM

Wonderful timing, Ajit. A very well deserved EP on this one.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on June 17, 2010 at 11:33 PM

Wow. A riveting image that really holds the viewer's eye.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments