The Cheetah Cubs

Mario, this is really nice. I love the expressions on the cub's faces, especially the right one. You captured some emotion here. Well done.

Nice to see new work from you, Mario. I like the moody processing here. I'm learning more and more how much fun it can be to play with Silver Efex Pro, and you certainly used it well here.

Max

Excellent image. I do like how you have used Silver Efex Pro to create a pleasant, moody atmosphere.

This is a very attractive photo, wonderful the way the cubs are aggregated around the kill. From an esthetic point of view I really like the bright whites on the cubs faces that draws my attention there and contrasts so well with the dramatic black background. I do find myself trying to reason with what time of day and lighting situation this photo is meant to depict. My best sense is that we are seeing a nightime scene lit with artificial front lighting. Not sure it really matters how it was illuminated or massaged in photoshop/Silver Effects, the end result is still stunning.

Mario,
You know that I am not a great fan of B&W, but this works marvelously well, the expression of the cub on the right is priceless

Hi Mario,

This is interesting. I like B&W shots but always have a hard time judging if the choice to convert to B&W was a good one without seeing the original colour version. Curious here - what prompted your decision to convert? I'm torn on vignettes - in this case I think it helps "put the spotlight on" the subjects, but at the same time it introduces a certain "artificiality" to the shot (and starts to flirt with what I consider photo art).

On the content of the photo itself: Love the stares of the two cats and how the 3rd one almost seems to be taking advantage of them being distracted to grab a mouthful! I find the out-of-focus 4th cat to be a very minor distraction (but certainly not a deal breaker).

Overall this is really interesting and visually pleasing...

Cheers...

Brad

PS: I don't know what you use to convert your raw images, but I use Phase One's Capture One Pro - it offers B&W conversion at the raw conversion stage and I have just begun experimenting with it. So far it seems awesome...just loving it...

Thanks to everyone for all the comments.

@Ken and @ Brad Here is a color version of this image. Would like to hear your comments

Hey Mario,

Thanks for posting the colour version. While the B&W is nice - I prefer the colour version by a HUGE margin (let me be clear - I think it's fantastic). Interestingly, in the colour version the problem I had with the 4th cheetah is gone (now it doesn't distract me at all). It if were mine the only thing I would consider doing would be to tone down the exposure in the background (to reduce the brightness of the "jagged" branches).

Cheers...

Brad

Thanks for the feedback Brad. I do agree that those branches should be toned down as they do distract a lot that is why I went with B&W where there is always more room for dodging and burning. I will be posting it soon with the adjustments discussed

Mario

Very nice Mario.
I prefer the color version but they are both beautiful.
I get the feeling a slight CCW rotation might be needed.

Nice one, Mario…a beautiful moment, in a well balanced composition..
Grt, Ingrid.

Hello Mario

I too prefer the Colour version as mentioned by Brad. Also enjoy how you have Utilized the Aperture setting to Isolate the Cats from surrounding growth. Would really enjoy seeing your revised image as mentioned!!:)

Beautiful Capture..!!! Really like the Image.

Bill

Mario,

Sorry for the delay, I have been very busy trying to thin out my Tiger images.
The colour image is even better, I love both but much prefer colour

Mario,
Congratulations on the WP for this outstanding image and for what it is worth,
both images are outstanding but I too prefer the color version over the B&W.