Camera: Sony ILCE-1

Lens: Sony 400mm G OSS f2.8, with Sony 1.4x teleconverter

Aperture: f5

Shutter speed: 1/500s

ISO: 640

Description: This leopard had settld in for an afternoon's rest in the shade of a dense shrub. She seemed oblivious of all the vehicles nearby, immersed in her own world of constant 'now'.

Story from behind the lens: It had been a slow day, with relatively little to show for a lot of searching for wildlife. Finally around midday, our driver was alerted to a leopard sleeping in a bush not too far away. We converged on the spot with about 20 other vehicles. We were fairly late to arrive and had to wait nearly an hour to get into a position where clean shots were a possibility. As it turned out, time was not the obstacle - the leopard stayed in the shade for another nearly 2 hours before leaving. The light was quite harsh at first with strong contrasting dapples everywhere. Also from our first vantage point, there were quite a few small (but annoying) obstructions between our car and the cat. Eventually, the cat moved deeper into the shade and many of the cars left, so we were able to maneuver to a clear shot. Our patience was rewarded with some nice views of the leopard after it woke up and started to look around.