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snow leopard (C)
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snow leopard (C)

by John Tobias

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 10, 2011149 views4 comments
I enjoy the challenges that photographing wild animals in zoos can present. In this case, a young male snow leopard was being introduced to his new home. The indoor exhibit had no direct artifical lighting, but did have an overhead skylight. Light from the public area did reach into the exhibit. This cat was very shy, and I did not want to use flash, or even photograph him through the wire of his exhibit, deciding to stay in the public area. After viewing the photos I decided to stay with the warmer tones of his fur. For the most part the leopard staid hidden behind some logs and branches in the exhibit. Also, there were many excited kids in the public area.

Canon XSi
1/60 @ f5.6 ISO800 +.1 exposure
Canon 55-250 @ 250mm
Hand held, IS on.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on May 10, 2011 at 11:05 PM
The laid back ears, squinting eyes with averted gaze and tense facial musculature indicates that he's stressed. Great job with the exposure and focus to capture his emotions.
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Canning on May 11, 2011 at 4:40 PM
Sounds like tough shooting conditions. The cat feels tight in the frame to me, but perhaps there were compositional limitations to zooming out.
Registered on February 10, 2004, 88 Posts, 549 Comments
Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on May 11, 2011 at 5:36 PM
there's something sinister in the look and the toning of the image...I don't mind the tight framing but wish there was more of the face visible...most of us will probably only see these beautiful cats in cages in our lifetime :frown:
Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments
Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on May 12, 2011 at 10:56 AM
Sounds like you had more challenges to deal with than Steve Winter shooting these in the wild John :biggrin: I like the darkness and the look in the cat's eyes sure draw the viewer in. It is the composition that I feel could be stronger; including a bit more empty space on the left and losing a bit on the right (the triangular corner below that OOF object) could work better I think (without knowing your constraints outside the frame of course).
Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments