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andrewjloftis
Cat Nap
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Cat Nap



behind the lens badge
cameraSONY SLT-A65V

settings Aperture f/6.3 ISO 640 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 180/1 

upload_dateOct, 2013

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3900

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Awards

Top Shot Award 22
Summer 2020
Contest Finalist in Soft Photo Contest
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Categories

55 Comments |
LauraRetyi
 
LauraRetyi October 30, 2013
This is so beautiful. the lovely soft light on this magnificent gorgeous creature!
invero
 
invero December 04, 2013
love it
jleiweke
 
jleiweke December 04, 2013
Congrats!
akhtarkhan
 
akhtarkhan December 04, 2013
Cute looking and eye opening splendid capture. Congrats on the feature.
gopalakrishnan
 
gopalakrishnan December 04, 2013
great capture !!
NoveenKhan
 
NoveenKhan December 04, 2013
Oh my deary me, that is STUNNING. Great feature and congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sgundry
 
sgundry December 04, 2013
That eye! Great photo, powerful.
pixellimagery
 
pixellimagery December 04, 2013
Congrats on your Dec feature, Andrew, beautiful lighting and crisp details! :-))
Ell
viewbug_georgem
 
viewbug_georgem December 04, 2013
Just beautiful.... :-)
Celtic
 
Celtic December 04, 2013
beautiful! congrats
symesie04
 
symesie04 December 04, 2013
Lovely
drakkardarkblade
 
drakkardarkblade December 04, 2013
congrats, fantastic, please check out my works
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta December 04, 2013
Fabulous portrait. Congratulations.
davidrelph Platinum
 
davidrelph December 04, 2013
Beautiful image, nice warm tones
pro_noob
 
pro_noob December 04, 2013
nice capure... and congrats for the feature.. :0
MelonyMejias
 
MelonyMejias December 04, 2013
such a beautiful picture!
imthinkingoutloud
 
imthinkingoutloud December 04, 2013
congrats on your feature...this is an amazingly beautiful photo. Such gorgeous colors and details. Stunning.
nerophoto
 
nerophoto December 04, 2013
amazingly peaceful and serene...congrats on your feature!!!
mjgphotog
 
mjgphotog December 04, 2013
Looks so sweet
mclaybaugh PRO+
 
mclaybaugh December 04, 2013
So sweet.
FrankSomma
 
FrankSomma December 04, 2013
This is so right there Andrew, like he's on your living room couch! Good one!!
iceman2
 
iceman2 December 04, 2013
Beautiful capture.Congrats!
marinapelton
 
marinapelton December 04, 2013
Love it!!
ReflectionEternity
 
ReflectionEternity December 04, 2013
Beautiful photo
BowmanLifeStudios
 
BowmanLifeStudios December 04, 2013
Very nice love the warm colors and expression. Great shot!
PhotoAlaska
 
PhotoAlaska December 04, 2013
very nice
sachinus2010 Platinum
 
sachinus2010 December 04, 2013
What a wonderful shot !
BarbaraT
 
BarbaraT December 04, 2013
What an absolutely beautiful photograph. I love it. Congratulations.
nystylist79
 
nystylist79 December 04, 2013
I really love this shot
VeniceBeach
 
VeniceBeach December 04, 2013
Outstanding, love the soft warm tones
debcoimages
 
debcoimages December 04, 2013
Wonderful softness in the eyes. Well done and congrats!
djensen
 
djensen December 04, 2013
Awesome capture, congrats on a very well deserved feature!
terrycharbeneau
 
terrycharbeneau December 04, 2013
Great pictue.congrats on your Feature.
KarenCamilleri
 
KarenCamilleri December 04, 2013
This has soul !!
ChrisKIELY
 
ChrisKIELY December 04, 2013
Brilliant!! Congratulations on your Feature!!
colleenrenshaw PRO+
 
colleenrenshaw December 04, 2013
Beautiful!!! Great capture!
princessdi6305
 
princessdi6305 December 04, 2013
Great capture!! Congrats!
sridharanupindi
 
sridharanupindi December 04, 2013
Simply superb shot !
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 December 04, 2013
Love love love this! Wonderful capture! Congrats on being Featured!
mspix
 
mspix December 04, 2013
Simply Awesome!!
nitti
 
nitti December 04, 2013
Awww....too cute. Congrats
JeffreyA
 
JeffreyA December 04, 2013
that is awesome!!!
RachelFlint
 
RachelFlint December 05, 2013
Simply Beautiful! :-)
kaz-strathemore
 
kaz-strathemore December 05, 2013
Awesome I love the soft light - congrats on a super shot of this magnificent creature
murphey Ultimate
 
murphey December 05, 2013
Fantastic Shot !
mross
 
mross December 06, 2013
This is one Beautiful capture..
BrianpSlade
 
BrianpSlade December 07, 2013
Superb warmth in this delightful image....well done and congrats!...Brian
redwriter Platinum
 
redwriter December 07, 2013
Nice shot. Congrats. - Jake
smsunshine
 
smsunshine December 15, 2013
Congrats =) So precious, love it !!!!!!!
Time-Is-Momentary
 
Time-Is-Momentary December 22, 2013
Beautiful!
maymoon
 
maymoon January 12, 2014
so cool
Drmerlin
 
Drmerlin March 29, 2014
What a stunning image. Very well done!
rmr731 Platinum
 
rmr731 December 08, 2014
Gorgeous capture! Love it!
JeffreyA
 
JeffreyA February 27, 2015
wonderful shot, awesome work
michaeltillman Platinum
 
michaeltillman March 06, 2015
Wow. This cub looks gentle as a house cat. Look at the texture and light reflection of the side of the rock. Great shot.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#cat #cub #lion #nebraska #omaha #wildlife #zoo
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska

Time

Mid-morning

Lighting

This was shot inside the cat house, so the light wasn't great. It's a fairly dark environment.

Equipment

Sony a65 and Tamron 18-270mm

Inspiration

I'd been hoping to shoot the new lion cubs since they were born, just a few months before this was taken. I visited regularly, after they were introduced to the public, but they were a very popular attraction, as you might imagine. It took a few trips, and lots of frames, but I finally got what might be my best, if most popular, frame ever.

Editing

I cheated a little in-camera first. The a65 isn't a low-light performer (I've upgraded to the a77 and a99 since, so I was in the habit of using multi-frame noise reduction in situations like this. It's a feature in Sony DSLRs that shoots six exposures, then combines them into a single noiseless frame. Unfortunately, it requires shooting in jpeg, but still the results are pretty good. Finally, I made some minor adjustments to color temp, contrast, and clarity in Lightroom.

In my camera bag

I have two bags, but my everyday bag holds the following: Cameras: Sony a77 & Sony a99 w/grip Lenses: Tamron 18-270mm, Tamron 200-400mm, Minolta 50mm f/1.7, & Minolta 70-210mm f/4 (I love my Minolta Beercan) I also carry filters, macro extension tubes, cabled and wireless remotes, two flashlights, a lens cloth, and hand warmers (it gets cold in Nebraska).

Feedback

Henry Doorly Zoo is consistently ranked among the best in the country. That means the biggest obstacle to good shots is traffic. People, people everywhere! The key is patience. Also, it helps to really observe the subjects. Animals can be very unpredictable, but if you pay attention, you can get a good sense when a good shot might be coming.

See more amazing photos, follow andrewjloftis

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