Leopard – Page 2 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

January 17, 2021January 17, 2021

2021-01-18: Leopard in a tree

I always hesitate a bit about sharing images of predators feeding, as some people (including me) are squeamish, but I don’t find this to be gory or difficult to view, so I hope no one else finds it challenging to look at. Many people say that they want to see a kill while on safari; I never have, though I have arrived at lions feeding very shortly after taking down a pair of impala, and it’s a very hectic experience to witness. In terms of an animal feeding, this was very tame as the carcass was already well picked over and it was high in a tree so there weren’t a lot of smells with it. But it still spooked one of the people in our vehicle, and after a short time there she indicated to our guide that she was ready to move on and that it was getting a bit much for her.

The day previous, she had been quite keen to see a cheetah starting (and then quickly failing) at a hunt. I wonder what would have happened had the cheetah been successful? My thoughts on this are, when heading out in nature, do your best limit your expectations of what you will experience, and what you hope to experience, and even, what you think you will enjoy experiencing.

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021

2021-01-03: More time with Capture One

I found a few more images that were similar to do some side by side editing between Lightroom and Capture One Express for raw processing. I continue to be impressed with the colour and detail that Capture One brings out of my Fuji files.

The first is a leopard image from Lion Sands River Lodge, edited with Lightroom.

And here is the same leopard using Capture One.

I edited these photos on different days and didn’t cross check to try to make them look the same, but just to bring out the best in them. I think the colour rendering is nicer on the Capture One version as it has less of a magenta cast, and generally it feels to me a bit richer with more depth.

This was shot at Chitwa Chitwa, when the Torchwood pride moved through the property early one morning. This was done with Lightroom.

This is a single lioness from the same pride, edited using Capture One. Again, I prefer the Capture One edit for the richness of colour.

Finally, a sunrise image shot while at Lion Sands Tinga Lodge. This first image is the Lightroom edit.

The same sunrise edited using Capture One. And three for three, I prefer the colour and depth in this image to the Lightroom edited image.

Because I need to keep the file sizes manageable for the webpage, some of the differences that I see when looking at the images within the editing programs doesn’t reflect in the versions I post online, but, I think these give a good example of what I am experiencing with this new (to me ) software.

Have a great week everyone!

December 13, 2020December 13, 2020

2020-12-13: Leopards at Chitwa Chitwa

Sometimes there are a lot of vehicles all trying to see the same thing, and rangers operate on a first come, first served basis at a sighting, (usually a maximum of three vehicles) and then everyone else puts their name on a list. It’s always been my experience that all the rangers involved do their very best to maximize the viewing for their guests, while still being fair to try and allow everyone to opportunity to have a view. In this situation, we were pretty far down the list on this sighting that happened during afternoon drive, and we were all hopeful that perhaps we would get a glimpse of a leopard before nightfall.

The groups before us only saw the mother leopard. They knew the cub was somewhere in the thicket, but it wasn’t interested in making itself seen at that time. Harley, our guide, navigated our vehicle to the best spot he could find, and after the other vehicle that was there cleared off, the cub popped its head out of the bushes and made its way down to spend some time with Mom. We had a short while enjoying the sighting, and then a second vehicle came along to also get a quick view of the leopards before nightfall. I think it was the second vehicle that spooked the cub back into the thicket, so our vehicle ended up being the only one to see both mother and cub during that sighting. We headed off to give the other vehicle the best viewing spot, and enjoyed a sundowner a short while later.

November 8, 2020November 8, 2020

2020-11-08: Hosana

I spent part of my last game drive at Chitwa Chitwa with a gorgeous male leopard called Hosana. I don’t often have time to catch any of the virtual safari shows that are shown on Twitter or Facebook, but one of the times I did check in briefly, before my last trip, he was featured, so seeing him “in person” so to speak was quite cool. Kind of the same feeling I get when I watch a nature show filmed somewhere I’ve been, and I actually recognize a landmark; a little point of connection to a place far away, but close to my heart.

Getting three images edited today doesn’t seem like much, but it was more than I had anticipated I would be able to do, so I’ll take it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.