Cheetah in the Grass

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 24, 2014141 views7 comments

Late one afternoon, we watched a cheetah make an unsuccessful run at an impala. When it rested, the sun was already behind a hill, putting us in shadow. I have left it a bit on the dark side since those were the conditions and brightening it seemed unnatural. I did however darken some very bright grasses with a -.3ev brush and used the grasses to frame the cheetah. I also used a+.1 brush to lighten the eyes just a bit. Which areas need work? Comments welcome. Richard
Taken with a D4 and 80-400 (at400) f/5.6, 1/1600 and Auto ISO at 1100.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on September 25, 2014 at 3:01 AM

Richard,
Given the circumstances of light and "pesky" grass, I think that this works very well,
The important part the face and eyes are clear. I might try slightly more lightening on the face and softening the small amount of in focus grass to the left of the face.

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on September 26, 2014 at 2:08 AM

Richard ..I think this works very well. How often does one see a cheetah image like this...in its quiet form ..

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 26, 2014 at 10:26 AM

Hi Richard,

Overall I quite like this, especially the part "deeper" into the frame. I do find the brighter OOF grasses near the lower left corner and the ones overlapping the end of the tail a bit off-putting, but more because of their brightness than the fact that they're OOF. If this were mine I'd work at selectively reducing their brightness (modified luminosity mask to the rescue!

).

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on September 26, 2014 at 11:34 AM

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. Brad: have to put nose to grindstone re learning luminosity masking. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on September 26, 2014 at 8:21 PM

Hmmm. I like the top two thirds, but the bottom foreground of oof grass and cat pulls it down for me. The detail on face is super.

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

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on September 27, 2014 at 5:22 PM

Lon: thanks for your comment. Here's a re-post where I've tried to do with a negative brush what Brad and likely you might want to see done with a luminosity mask. Masking is not something I'm familiar with as yet. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 27, 2014 at 10:53 PM

Hi Richard,

The repost works much better for me - OOF foreground grasses much less of an issue and my eyes were drawn much more strongly to the cheetah's face. Big improvement in my books.

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments