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Cover Boy
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Cover Boy

by Max Waugh

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 20, 2012328 views15 comments
The first of eleven different leopards we encountered at Mala Mala last month, this is a ~3 year old male known as the Son of the Dudley Female. He was still too young to have carved out his own territory among the dominant males in the area, so he still carried his mom's name. We found him on our first afternoon drive, during which he wandered down to the Sand River and settled down on its banks. Once we pulled up and I saw this scene, I knew this would make for a nice image... it's pretty hard to get leopards out in the open, at low angles, with nice clean backgrounds to boot, so I was very pleased with this cooperative subject. I ended up choosing this shot for the cover of my new leopard calendar.

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 400
1/500th
f/4

Max

Comments

15 comments
Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on September 20, 2012 at 12:28 PM
This one is just about perfect! What a honor to have viewed one of these leopards in the wild! I'm envious. :toast:
Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments
Comment posted by Butch Lama on September 20, 2012 at 6:54 PM
What a great pose he give you... Awesome shot and love that eye contact too.
Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments
Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on September 20, 2012 at 8:19 PM
Wow, you beauty! What a fabulous low pov and eye-contact. My only nit - maybe a little more room on the right of the frame to make this a little less centered.
Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on September 20, 2012 at 9:43 PM
Beautiful cat, captured well!
Wonderful face and eyes- nice comp and environment.
:toast:
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on September 21, 2012 at 9:24 AM
Very impressive cat, beautifully captured !
If this was mine, I may prefer to burn the foreground sand.
Of course, I'm missing the large version.
Jagdeep Rajput :toast:
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Carol Nichols on September 21, 2012 at 4:19 PM
Gorgeous capture of this leopard Max. It must have been thrilling to see eleven different leopards on your trip. I think your composition, sharpness, exposure, DOF and the position of the leopard are all stellar, but I would agree with Jagdeep that perhaps burning the OOF foreground might be a good idea.
Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on September 21, 2012 at 11:02 PM
A real beauty, Max! The low POV makes this outstanding. I presume you were parked in the river with him lying higher on the bank?
I think slightly toning down the BG and FG brightness through a luminosity mask will add some more pop. Might kick saturation up by about 5 points (not too much though).
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 22, 2012 at 8:39 AM
Hi Max,

This one more or less defines the phrase "simple yet very effective". Works well for me!

Cheers...

Brad
Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on September 22, 2012 at 2:17 PM
A beauty Max! :smile: That low angle really makes the shot. A pity we cannot see the paws though. I would be tempted to darken the BG and FG a little to make the image even more powerful.
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments
Comment posted by Lindy Martin on September 22, 2012 at 6:48 PM
:toast: :toast:
Registered on March 10, 2009, 60 Posts, 169 Comments
Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on September 23, 2012 at 12:11 AM
Love the title! Very nice eye contact. Sure hope I find one of these guys someday!
Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments
Comment posted by Sandra Hendrikse on September 23, 2012 at 2:34 PM
Beautiful portrait. :smile:
Registered on January 23, 2008, 48 Posts, 769 Comments
Comment posted by Guy Runco on September 27, 2012 at 12:08 AM
Excellent shot Max, zero nits from me.

:toast:
Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on September 27, 2012 at 2:08 AM
Max,

What a god pose you got here, so often Leopards are in awkward places in particular up trees. Whilst the image could be improved, whatever you do please do not change the colours of the Leopard as it is rare to see them in "natural" colours!
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on October 3, 2012 at 2:42 AM
Beautiful low angle shot, it is indeed rare to be able to photograph them like this.
Grt, Ingrid.
Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments