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Image Description
A serval cat caught in the last light of the day.
Masai Mara, Kenya
Critique Template
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It’s a beautiful animal in great light. I thought maybe you left so much room on top to make the animal seem more elongated - but maybe you could crop off 20% or so from the top. Just my taste; but I feel that would increase my attention on this beauty.
It’s the beautiful warm light that makes this image so engaging. Also the pose and head turn are just what anyone would want. A connection to the animal through the eyes. You may want to clone out that long blade of grass that is arching in from the left side. It’s a real distraction in my opinion. You could also burn that stick coming out of the clump of grasses just left of the cat. Beautiful!!!
Ingrid, beautiful light on this gorgeous small cat. Tack-sharp, great eyes, and nice environment. IMO, the dead space at the top detracts from the image, as well as that vertical bright stick that others have mentioned. A fine image either way, though.
Thanks all for your comments and appreciation. Yes, the light and the eye contact make this photo. The curved long blade of grass personally doesn’t bother me, because it also brings some balance in the photo. Now as far as cloning goes - I just don’t do that. My pleasure is all in the making of the photo on the spot. And that means working with the environment the subject chooses to be in. So, given that way of working, I couldn’t crop at the top without cutting the blade in half (unless I would go for square, which is not my favourite ratio), so it will remain as is. I do appreciate that so much can be done in post-processing to clean up a very nice image to make it even more beautiful, but it’s just not my thing. Thanks for the advice, though, I do appreciate you taking the time to improve this image
