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Leopard Pictures from Wildife Pictures Online, the Net's premier source of affordable wildlife stock photos, wildlife information, resources, and links | |||||||||
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Leopard Pictures - Pg 1
Getting good leopard pictures is not easy as these magnificent but secretive cats spend much of the day inactive, hidden from view in leafy trees or dense bush.Although daytime sightings do occur in national parks where leopards have become accustomed to vehicles, such sightings are usually fleeting. In addition, your subject will often be well-camouflaged or partially obscured, making it even more difficult to capture memorable leopard photos.
So count yourself lucky if you ever come across a leopard lying in a tree, in good light!
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1.Leopard mother and cub, Elephant Plains, South Africa 2.Leopard Sitting in Green Grass, Elephant Plains, S Africa 3.Leopard in tree at night, Elephant Plains, South Africa
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Use of Leopard Pictures | |||||
Dappled shade may be attractive to the eye but, combined with the leopard's natural camouflage, will often make your photograph too confusing and "busy" (unless you're trying to show how the animal blends in with its surroundings).
For this reason professional photographers will often use fill-in flash to soften the shadows and put highlights in the eyes of the leopard. Pictures using this technique usually require a more potent flash than the one built into your camera, particularly when using a long lens. Rather use a separate flash-gun, mounted off-camera where possible, together with a flash extender to concentrate the light beam.
Bear in mind though that flash, if not handled with care, can also present its own problems, causing animal "red-eye" (see very last thumbnail below) or over-exposure of your subject.
Elephant Plains Game Lodge
Virtually all the leopard pictures on this page were taken in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. We were based at
Elephants Plains Game Lodge, a small family-run lodge within Sabi Sands that has gained a reputation for
providing guests with outstanding leopard picture opportunities.
Although there are good numbers of leopards in the adjoining Kruger National Park, they are not easy to see and photograph, mainly because visitors cannot stray off the designated roads - something which is permitted in private reserves.
Experienced Trackers
In many private game reserves visitors also have the luxury of an experienced tracker in the safari vehicle. Add
the guide/driver, and you have two sets of exceptionally sharp eyes that can pick-up tell-tale signs of leopard and
other wildlife that would escape the rest of us.
Also, because leopards are territorial, the game rangers get to know where the individual cats hang out and will take their guests there, usually with successful results.
For most visitors to the bush, finding these superbly camouflaged cats in thick foliage or high in the branches of a leafy tree can be tricky.
The picture below, under the heading "Leopard Spotting Tips", vividly illustrates how a leopard's markings blend in with the background of dappled shade.
(Please note: If you're interested in using images for commercial purposes, we do
offer Leopard Stock Pictures with royalty free licence at
affordable prices).
Note - you're welcome to use the above picture, provided it's not altered at all.
To save the image, right-click and then "save as" to your desktop or a folder of your choice on your hard-drive.
Return to top of Leopard Pictures 1 or jump to Leopard Pictures 2
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Contact Details: Scotch Macaskill, 18 Strawberry Fields, 36 College Rd, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Tel: +27 33 3422811 Privacy: Your privacy is guaranteed. No personal information will be sold or passed to third parties - see our Privacy Policy for more. Updated: April 2008. Copyright © 2002 - 2008 Scotch Macaskill