28/02/2025
Yesterday I spent 7 hours waiting for this leopard to climb down a tree. It’s up there with the longest I’ve ever waited for a shot, hoping for one very specific photo…and it didn’t work! If you look at the final photo, this shows the idea for the photo I had in my mind. The idea was to capture the leopard, as it (hopefully) descended down the side of the tree. Myself and my guide, Taga, spent a long, long, lonnng time discussing its likely route down, if it was going to come down at all - after all we had 7 hours to kill!
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We had many moments of excitement throughout the day, as she moved spot in the tree to get comfortable. Even a twitch became a heightened moment!
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After 7 hours, she put on a show, descending for all of 2 minutes, before deciding she preferred life in the tree, away from the flies that swarmed her as she arrived at the bottom.
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Ultimately, she descended and ascended in different spots, so it all came down to luck. Although I didn’t achieve the photo I was after, it was such an amazing way to spend a day, and I’m really happy with some of the shots of her up the tree. In all honesty, I’m not really sure the final image works though, as she doesn’t stand out enough, but I’d love your opinion! I could have easily taken a safe shot using a telephoto as she descended, but opted for a gamble. And I’d do the same again next time!
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Shot on z8
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