HNP003

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 23, 2016152 views7 comments

This is HNP003, he is believed to be the oldest male Cheetah in Hwange National Park, according to the Cheetah Conservation Project in Zimbabwe. We caught up with him as he was lounging under a large tree.
The Project has been following him since 2009, and estimate his age at 9 years. He is also missing his lower right canine, first noticed in 2013- though he seems to be getting along just fine from the response I received after submitting this image to the Project folks.

d810
500mm f/4
TC-14E III
1/1600s @ f/7.1
HH from safari vehicle

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on March 23, 2016 at 9:23 AM

Hi Chuck, not so keen on the truncated paws, removing the TC I think would have been better, or go a bit tighter in. The colour looks a bit flat, I think just getting that white point sorted just brings a bit more life into the image, but you already know my thoughts.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on March 23, 2016 at 9:45 AM

Charles,
Quite rare to see a Cheetah in Hwange we have seen only 6 in 10 years!
If IQ allows I would try a tighter crop, colours look realistic to me.

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

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 23, 2016 at 6:30 PM

This is appealing to my eye. It would have translated well as a vertical portrait, too.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 24, 2016 at 5:03 PM

That's a compelling portrait Chuck, it looks almost as if he is having a chat with you. devil

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on March 26, 2016 at 10:59 PM

Lovely, Chuck! Very nice techs and resulting detail, beautiful creamy background, great eye contact. I can't say I'm terribly fond of the cheetah's right front leg (shoulder) position, but that's being ridiculously nit-picky on something you had no control over and what is a natural pose given the incline, but it does look just a tad awkward. I guess I mention this from a commercial viewpoint in case you have other frames where this is resolved. This is a great portrait as-is...just thought I'd throw that out there as something that caught my eye.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Elizabeth Holbrook on April 2, 2016 at 9:06 AM

Congratulations. A nice image of the old fellow. His tongue looks a bit lopsided with the tooth missing.

Registered on May 6, 2015, 43 Posts, 221 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Bushnell on April 7, 2016 at 2:30 AM

Love this Chuck. I love the overall soft color of the picture and the great eye contact. Seems close enough I could be looking at my cat!

Registered on April 3, 2011, 20 Posts, 122 Comments