1Dx 70-200f/2.8 II, shot @ f/4.5 & 1/200th, Mala Mala Northern South Africa.
One thing you can almost Guarantee with Leopards, follow them long enough & they will "Elevate", like Cheetahs they cant resist Tree Branches, Logs, Rocks, complete Posers.
Lovely pose! Looks totally at ease. No tension anywhere in the body. Look at the paws too. You must have put him at ease. In complete contrast tho the other picture where that one was sizing you up - possibly for a meal 
Lovely pictures!
Thanks for posting them. Btw, how many did you end up shooting?
Hi RPT, Over a 2 weeks period in March this year, between 2 Areas that covered between them around 75,000 Hectares (Londolozi & Mala mall), we were able to see 24 different Leopards, I went with a Pro Photographer from South Africa, Greg DuToit, very talented young chap that set the Trip up for me, all I told him was that I wanted to shoot Leopards, in the dark, on rocks, in trees, what ever, just Leopards.
The Leopards are in my view, the most Beautiful of the cats, I've not yet had the opportunity to shoot Tiger or Jaguar, on my list, but in Africa these Guys are hard to beat, they are simply Poetry in Motion. This particular Leopard sitting on the Rock, is the same Leopard that I posted before & commented that he made me feel uneasy with that Piercing stare, on this side of the Rock when this Photo was taken, as you say, Mr Cool, totally at ease, couldn't care less about the vehicle, but when we moved around to the front of the Rock to get a head on shot, I half stood in the vehicle to change my 300 to my 400 onto the Wimberley set up, the fact that I had stood & changed the profile of the vehicle, had this guy go from calm & uninterested, to "Food??", you can see the step change in their Body language, but in particular you see it in the Eyes, in this case I remember thinking "Oh S..t, mistake", it's something that always impresses me with these Animals, the fact that you can literally get to a meter of them, they often use the vehicle as a "Bush" when stalking for a Kill, and they totally ignore you, they don't see the "vehicle" as a threat or as food, but the moment you stand up in the vehicle you break that perception they have, "You" then become a potential target, once you sit down again, you can see their eyes simply turn off, your no longer of interest.
1Dx 300f/2.8 V2, shot @ f/11 & 1/200th
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