Reflecting Leopard

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 12, 2012248 views13 comments

Here's an image from the recently finished Namibia tour that I led. We were treated to an excellent leopard sighting right before sunset at the Nuamses waterhole in Etosha National Park. This big male did a loop around the waterhole, allowing for some nice reflection shots and then sat on a rock above the waterhole for a while before finally sauntering off into the bush right before sundown. This is full frame, best viewed large. Taken out our vehicle window.

7D 500F4 1/500 F5.6, iso 500

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on October 12, 2012 at 3:44 PM

Hello Nate

SWEET.... Love the Soft Tonal colours.

Congrats

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 12, 2012 at 3:59 PM

Great reflection and really nice lighting. I also like how the leopard blends into the surroundings while which really shows how their camo works

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

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on October 12, 2012 at 6:15 PM

Pretty sweet image, Nate! It's awesome having the reflection in the water, just awesome

! I also really like the colours, you can see how they blend into the surroundings while hunting.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on October 12, 2012 at 8:29 PM

Handsome fella! Classic reflection comp, with nice detail.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Cam Held on October 13, 2012 at 2:52 PM

Hey Nate,
Not sure I've ever seen a leopard shot like this one- great photo! The simple color scheme here is awesome. No nits at all!
-Cam

Registered on November 12, 2009, 59 Posts, 398 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on October 13, 2012 at 10:01 PM

What an extremely lucky person you are, Nate, to have a leopard pose for you in such a manner. Now, if only the water was still.....hmmm! If this is not full frame, maybe you could add a little more space at the top, and crop off a little from the bottom, and also selectively darken the area behind the leopard, it would pop out more, in my opinion.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 13, 2012 at 10:04 PM

Thanks for your comments everyone! Thanks for the suggestion Ajit, this is full frame.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on October 13, 2012 at 11:57 PM

A beautiful environmental photo of a seemingly rare encounter. Excellent composition, great light and reflection.

Very Nice Work Nate!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on October 14, 2012 at 12:06 AM

What can I say, stunning subject in great light and a full reflection! Excellent photo.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on October 14, 2012 at 5:12 AM

A beautiful shot of this magnificent creature in gorgeous light. Needs a bit of clockwise rotation though judging by the reflection.

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 14, 2012 at 8:29 PM

Oh Nate, you must have been hyperventilating a little when he posed and you realized you had the reflection, too! Great. Using spots as references, I can see a slight bit of rotation, but an easy fix.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 14, 2012 at 9:16 PM

Thanks Ian and Lon, I was thinking it probably needed a touch of cw rotation as well but since it was full frame, I didn't want to crop it. Yes, Lon I got a bit excited when I saw we had the reflection as well and told everyone in the group to make sure they got the full reflection.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Mario Moreno on October 15, 2012 at 12:52 PM

The reflection makes this image .... Nicely seen

Registered on January 24, 2012, 163 Posts, 369 Comments