My first post - Leopard

[Ulhas Kalyanpur]

Place & date: Kabini, Oct 2015
Gear: Sony Mirrorless a6000 & 55-210mm lens
Exif: focal length 210 mm, ISO 650, f/6.3, 1/400sec (Manual mode).

The image is not cropped and only auto toning done. Light was pretty good at the the time the photograph was taken. I am a novice when it comes to photography. Critics & comments would be highly appreciated as it will help me learn & improve.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ulhas,
Nice to see a leopard. If the image is not cropped then did you upload a large image? Can you tell us the size of the image uploaded (in pixels and kb)? Which software did you use to process your photo? Did you click in jpeg mode?
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ulhas Kalyanpur]

Hello Sabyasachi Sir,

The image size is 236kb (1024x683) and it was shot in Jpeg. I used Lightroom only to add the watermark and used the auto tone.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice to see this big male relaxing on the road.
TFS
Roopak

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ulhas,
I was expecting a sharper image. If it is close then you should have got a sharper image. You can mail me the original untouched image by email (sabyasachi.patra@indiawilds.com ). Let me check and then suggest.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Welcome to IndiaWilds..!!

Lovely first post. You are lucky to sight a male leopard relaxing on the road. Normally they are on branches away from the track. Were there lot of people in the gypsy? If there was movement then there are chances you won't get a sharp image. Were you using a tripod or beanbag for support? Also it is better to click in RAW as that helps in post processing later.Thanks for sharing.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice to see your first post. Pound by pound it is the most powerful large cat of India. You are indeed lucky.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Debasis Bose]

Lovely capture of one of the most beautiful and secretive mammal that roams the forest of India

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Beautiful pose of the male leapord. Good eye contact. Nice details, try using a beanbag or any other support for shutter speeds less than 1/500 especially with non IS lenses and you will get even more sharper pictures.

Thanks for sharing

Rajan

[Ulhas Kalyanpur]

Thank you all for your comments & appreciation.

Sabyasachi Sir - I have sent the original untouched image to you by email.

Mridulji & Rajanji - The image was taken without using a beanbag or tripod. It was hand held. There was movement in the Jeep but I feel I could have captured the image better. Got to use beanbag going forward.

PS: I just came back from Kabini yesterday. Will post the picture of the leopard sighting later today.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Got your mail. I am in the midst of a project so was not able to respond earlier.

Earlier I was under the impression that the softness is perhaps due to post processing. However, that is not the case. You have used 1/400 shutter speed. Generally that shutter speed should be ok. The rule of thumb for sharp photos is shutter speed = 1/focal length. However, knowing how crowded the Safari vehicles are with each person jostling with the other for a better angle, a higher shutter speed would always be helpful. Nevertheless, you can check the tutorial http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?268 which has tips on handholding.

A bean bag or monopod helps in safari situations.

The hind part is slightly sharper than the head. Perhaps it moved its head a bit while you were clicking. One needs to shoot when the animal is momentarily still.

Sharpness is also dependent on the lens and the focus. You need to get the critical focus on the head.

However, I am think you may have used the digital zoom. Your Sony A6000 camera has a digital zoom of 2x. The quality drops due to digital zoom.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi