Predator

By far the hardest shot of the trip.
Leopards are true masters of concealment, hidden high on branches, wrapped in shadows and leaves. She had just finished her meal and was resting, barely visible even from the vehicle. Autofocus struggled, subject recognition failed. I knew the scene had potential, so I told myself: I need to slip the focus right into her eye.

She knows how to avoid the camera. But not me. Switching to manual focus, I tried a few attempts, racing against fading light. A few minutes later and I would’ve been forced to crank my ISO to unusable levels.

She slept most of the time, only lifting her head now and then to check the surroundings. I waited, breath held, focus set, hoping her eye would line up between the branches. The longer I held up my camera, the heavier it felt in my hands. And finally, for just a split second, her eye appeared. One click, one frame. I got it!

And for this shot, I trusted the Sony A7RV paired with the 200–600mm — the megapixel power gave me the room to crop in post, making sure I walked away with the image I had envisioned.