This leopard, the only one I was able to view in Zambia, raced down the trunk of a Sausage Tree (named for the shape of its fruit) only an instant after I had photographed it higher up on its branches. It is moving so fast that even at 1/60th of a second, the shutter records little more than a blur of spots. Yet that blur echoes its speed and strength. Leopards are powerful enough to haul prey as large as full-grown antelopes or baby giraffes high into the treetops, foiling scavenging hyenas or opportunistic lions. The diagonal placement intensifies the energy expressed by the leopard, as does the blur.
You wont see this shot on a postcard rack because it asks something of the viewer – we must see in our minds what we can’t see with our eyes.