Kiss of Sunshine

[Peter Dsouza]

Leopard | Kabini 2018

Had an encounter with this bold leopard walking straight towards our safari jeep during an evening Safari.

As the Sun was setting, there was a section of canopy through which the sunlight was penetrating on the path of the Leopard. I waited for the Leopard to walk into this section of the path and clicked just as it walked into it.



I'm an amateur photographer constantly thriving to improve my skills. All suggestions & comments are most welcome.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

The leopard is focussed on its path and the eyes showcase that. Nicely captured at the right moment, my sightings of leopard in the jungle has mostly been towards dusk and this reminds me of those moments. One more step and the full body would be covered in light. Thanks for sharing.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Leopard in its prime, personified. Nice take. Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Subhash Shrivastava]

Good one, a big mature one. Nicely captured. Luck shines on you.

[Dheerendra Singh]

This is always a thrilling moment when the leopard is faced with. Tfs

[Sabyasachi Patra]

You haven't mentioned the exif details of the photo. Please post the details of shutter speed, aperture, ISO and whether the image is cropped or full frame. That will help in commenting better.

It is always nice to see a leopard. You were fortunate to come across a lovely scene. As mentioned by Murugan, one more step ahead and you would have got the leopard in sunlight and you would have got some nice shadows of the leopard as well. Now you can see just a hint of a shadow of the fore leg. The shadow of the leopard would have increased the sense of depth in the image.

The image looks a bit soft. It appears as if the focus is not on the head but a few inches behind. The autofocus would lock in based on contrast. The parthenium shrub is well lit and the focus seems to have locked there. While clicking you need to look into a few technical details. You can check the tips sections and please don't hesitate to ask if you have any doubts. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Peter Dsouza]

Thank you for the feedback. Image details f/2.8, 1/250sec, 400mm, ISO 250.

I agree the image looks a bit soft. Although I had a bean bag, in the given circumstances I was unable to use it hence shot it hand held. As the leopard was walking head on, the vehicle was in reverse motion which resulted in a soft image. Under the circumstances increasing the shutter speed to 1/500 MAY have yielded a better image.

Thank for your feedback on the composition. I will try to leverage the learnings in my upcoming shots.

Cheers
Peter

[Mrudul Godbole]

Welcome to IndiaWilds!!

Its an amazing experience to see a big leopard walking towards you. Agree a higher shutter speed would have helped. You could have asked the driver to back up further and wait, giving you a chance to click when the vehicle is stopped (since the leopard was coming towards you).

Along with the EXIF details please also post the equipment details (Camera and lens model) to help in commenting. Thanks for sharing.

[Peter Dsouza]

Thank you for your feedback Mrudul. There was a commotion when this Leopard was spotted on the path which led to a lot of movement both within and outside the vehicle leading to a chaotic situation. I wish I could use a bean bag for this shot.

Gear used for this shot : Nikon D750 + 400mm f/2.8

Cheers
Peter

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice to know that you also have a 400mm f2.8. Is this the Version II with IS?

If the jeep is moving then getting a sharp shot becomes tough. We try to visualise the ideal scenario. It has been proved in many scientific learning studies that people learn equally effectively when they imagine. So we try to think of situations and offer suggestions some of which may not be possible to implement due to various constraints.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Peter Dsouza]

I used a rented equipment for the trip with my D750. It was a Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR.

Thank you for your feedback.