All You Can Eat

During my 2019 Patagonia tour, we came across a family of pumas—a mother and three very large cubs—feasting on a guanaco carcass right next to the road in Torres del Paine National Park. Despite their size (the cubs, over a year old, we nearly as big as mom), we saw the cats on the carcass for the next three days.

This shot was taken out the car window early one morning. The carcass was just on the other side of a small berm, so we had to contend with a grassy barrier in the foreground, but this angle offered a brief, clear view of two of the cubs.

Canon 1DXII
Canon 600mm
ISO 4000
1/160th
f/4

Max

@maxwaughphoto
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Cool frame nicely done. By focussing on the front Puma with 600 mm at F4, you successfully managed to cover the not so beautiful side of kill with OOF.

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I agree with Jagdeep. You managed to convey the not so beautiful part of the behavior, and captured a gorgeous shot of the cat. Nicely done.

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The details in the cub on the left dominate, while the rest of the story is slightly oof, but clear enough for completeness. A fine shot showing that “nature” is not nice.

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Max, I agree with the others, you managed this shot very well with the framing and oof, so that the story is told, but no one is grossed out. Wonderful details in the in focus Puma. I am amazed at your ISO at 4000 without any visible noise. Excellent image. :+1: :+1:

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I am amazed at your ISO at 4000 without any visible noise.

Shirley, thanks. I am starting to use DeNoise more in my recent processing work. The more recent updates to the software have given it more nuance, IMO, and while I often still “reintroduce” a little noise afterward (by processing as a separate layer and reducing the opacity) in order to avoid a completely glossy finish, I’ve been quite pleased with the way it’s handled some of my older higher-noise shots especially.

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