close iframe icon
approved icon zquentin avatar Platinum
zquentin
Amur Leopard portrait
Banner

Amur Leopard portrait



behind the lens badge

Amur Leopards are extremely endangered: only 40-80 are left in the wild. They are absolutely beautiful leopards :)

Amur Leopards are extremely endangered: only 40-80 are left in the wild. They are absolutely beautiful leopards :)
Read less
upload_dateJul, 2015

Views

5603

Likes

Awards

Contest Finalist in Wildlife Portraits Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 25
Contest Finalist in Monthly Pro Vol 14 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Animal Eyes Photo Contest
  View more
Peer Award
gerhardprinsloo richardeaton_9707 davidjprosser Vorster dayrancher TonyGuzmanG manh +274
Top Choice
James-Evans DanielasPhotography bishoyromani Pamelabole laurieleigh_0232 irantha7 alanlarick +78
Absolute Masterpiece
karinmcfarlane Paul_Joslin ingridwolter EveryAtomOfMe larryollivier RLP073 wendyroske_9600 +66
Superb Composition
jonasweiss Antoniobarrios CURUTCHET MarkWJohnsonwyo dumbdrum coxcraig vb2017 +52
Magnificent Capture
edandaniphone caspar2 Jaspa CeloxPhoto steveangelakis pal105 SergMon +25
All Star
AnotherDayisNOW BLPhotography Denise_Marshall jmimages Gemstar27 benanthony embas +15
Outstanding Creativity
reddevils_jon stephxanie Animalsnapper HaliSowle Sunray rhondaflynn FrankMead +6
Superior Skill
0567Leela Obidon onyanita ShellyRwanda gnome mcampi Capture-Life +1
Virtuoso
DebbieClarkeyes allenmonk joestanley michaelfmoore
Genius
travel4ever roccochiara
Love it
Albert-Serra-Photography

Emotions

Impressed
ElizePrinsloo ronjudyluv2travel

Top Ranks

Animal Faces Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Animal Faces Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
A ViewBug Logo Photo ContestTop 20 rank
A ViewBug Logo Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Endangered Species Photo ContestTop 10 rank
View more
Endangered Species Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fill The Frame Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Perfect Casting Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Perfect Casting Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Perfect Casting Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Wildlife Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Wildlife Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Macro Masterpieces Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Macro Masterpieces Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Eye To Eye Portraits Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Eye To Eye Portraits Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
Eye To Eye Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Right Down The Middle Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Classic Beauty Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Classic Beauty Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
Earth Day 2016 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Earth Day 2016 Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Classic Beauty Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Sharpness Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 19 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 19 Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Staring Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Staring Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 25Top 10 rank
Covers Photo Contest Vol 25Top 10 rank week 1
Exotic Wildlife Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Exotic Wildlife Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Trey Ratcliffs Put Your Best Foot Forward Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12Top 10 rank
It Is A Wild World Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12Top 20 rank week 1
It Is A Wild World Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
It Is A Wild World Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Monthly Pro Vol 14 Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 14 Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Wildlife Closeups Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Wildlife Closeups Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Animals Are Beautiful Photo Contest Top 20 rank
Animals Are Beautiful Photo Contest Top 20 rank week 2
Animals Are Beautiful Photo Contest Top 20 rank week 1
Monthly Pro Vol 13 Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Animal Eyes Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Animal Eyes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Animal Eyes Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1

Categories

8 Comments |
trevorsmart Platinum
 
trevorsmart July 31, 2015
Stunning shot!!
nandicmb
 
nandicmb September 21, 2015
Congratulations on your Conest Finalist win in Monthly Pro Vol 14 Photo Contest!
zquentin Platinum
zquentin September 21, 2015
Thank you so much nandicmb!!
KatieMcKinneyPhotography
 
KatieMcKinneyPhotography November 05, 2015
Love this! Beautiful lighting & you captured a one of a kind expression here, well done!
zquentin Platinum
zquentin November 06, 2015
Thank you very much wildorchidphotography!! He is a beautiful model :) One of my all-time favorite pictures
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots November 30, 2015
Beautiful capture! Congrats.
zquentin Platinum
zquentin November 30, 2015
Thank you JDLifeshots! Appreciate it :)
vsidles Platinum
 
vsidles December 04, 2015
This is EXQUISITE!
zquentin Platinum
zquentin December 04, 2015
Thank you vsidles!! Glad you liked it :)
rose12
 
rose12 April 20, 2017
This is an awesome beautiful photo voted for this is macro masterpieces:)
zquentin Platinum
zquentin April 20, 2017
Thank you so much rose12 for voting for this photo!!
Alfredo_Jose
 
Alfredo_Jose July 25, 2017
Superb shot, excellet light!
zquentin Platinum
zquentin July 25, 2017
Thank you Alfredo_Jose! Yes, it was beautiful golden morning light :)
rubenhernandez_1218
 
rubenhernandez_1218 January 26, 2018
I feel feel like it’s judging the heck out of me
zquentin Platinum
zquentin January 27, 2018
I totally know what you mean! Thanks rubenhernandez_1218 :)

Submitted to Photo Contests
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in a summer wildlife workshop in Kalispell, MT. The workshops are conducted on privately owned land. The reality is that amur leopards are the rarest big cats in the world: their number is around 80 to 100 in the wild in Siberia, Russia and China!! It is pretty much impossible to see them in the wild sadly. The other option to see them is in some zoos.

Time

The picture was taken in June a little before 8 am. It is not typical to shoot that late in the morning but the area where the leopard was got the morning sun later than other places.

Lighting

It was a beautiful sunny morning and the quality of the light was great. The amur leopard just stopped and posed for a second, looking right into the camera. The sun cast a golden glow on the leopard's face.

Equipment

I used my Canon 7D Mark II with the Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS II USM lens. This shot was taken hand held. The 70-200 lens is an amazing portrait lens and it worked really well for this shot.

Inspiration

My favorite area is wildlife photography and I absolutely love big and small cats! I will take any chance to photograph cats. Sadly, there are so many cat species that are critically endangered. One could spend decades in the wild and never see one of these magnificent cats... So this workshop was an amazing opportunity to see and photograph an amur leopard. I am also trying to raise awareness about these endangered species through my photography.

Editing

I used Adobe Lightroom to make some basic adjustments: lens profile correction, cropping, lifting the shadows in the picture. In Photoshop, I worked on some noise reduction for the background.

In my camera bag

For wildlife photography trips, I take my Canon 5D III and 7D II. I have the Canon 70-200 2.8 II and the 100-400 II with me all the time. On occasion, when I need more reach, I pack my Canon 200-400 lens as well. It has a built-in 1.4 extender. I take my tripod with the Jobu gimball head. When I go out to shoot landscape, I have the same camera bodies but I also take my Canon 24-70 2.8 L II USM.

Feedback

This was a relatively easy shot because the leopard stopped and posed for a second like a professional model. Also, there was plenty of beautiful light. Go out to shoot at sunrise or before sunset - take advantage of the golden hour because it really makes portraits special! The challenge with animals that have dark and light colored fur is trying to keep all the detail in the light fur. Use exposure compensation to make sure that all the detail is there in the picture. Watch the background! Keep it as simple as possible by avoiding distractions or using a shallow depth of field to blur it.

See more amazing photos, follow zquentin

User photo
It’s your time to shine! ☀️

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Already a member? Log In

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, and acknowledge you've read our Privacy Policy Notice.