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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Winner in Your Best Shot Photo Challenge
Runner Up in Spectacular Monochromes Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Spectacular Monochromes Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in A Black And White World Photo Contest
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Spring Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 27
Contest Finalist in Black And White Wow Factor Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Love it
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
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MaryAnne306
February 05, 2016
Wonderful capture and striking animal portrait! Congratulations on being a finalist!
krystalR4369
May 02, 2016
This is amazing! Where do you go to take pictures like this? Obviously, you could never get close enough to a leopard like this at the zoo. I love animals and photographing them, but I don't know where to go to get close to exotic animals.
Mojicreator
May 23, 2017
Brilliant Capture!.. Beautifully done, and excellent composition! An overall A+
Dreamstar
July 30, 2017
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany.Time
The picture was taken at about 4:30 pm on on July 2nd, 2010. The leopard was walking in circles in his cage. I had to wait quite some time to finally get him while he was walking towards me.There were only a few seconds per round to get the leopard at this angle. Shooting through the fence didn't make it easier, as I had to look at the leopard coming towards me and check that I didn't have a bar of the fence in front of me which would throw off the autofocus and blur the picture.Lighting
I had an annual ticket for the zoo, so I could just go there for shorter time periods without feeling to loose money. So I tried avoiding midday with its harsh light.Equipment
I used a Nikon D700 with a 70-200/2.8 VR, no tripod.Inspiration
I just loved that expression and the elegant moves of the leopard.Editing
This is one of my pictures with a stronger post processing. As I shot through a rather narrow fence, some bars were visible in the picture as lighter stripes. I used a layer in photoshop where I masked roughly the bars and changed the contrast (via the curves tool) to get those areas more in line with the rest of the picture. Then I darkened the corners to let the leopard pop out (and to hide the fences in the background. As I uploaded this picture for a black & white contest, I later did some conversion to black & white and increased the contrast to emphasize the fur pattern. The different versions can be seen here: https://www.viewbug.com/photo/69669626In my camera bag
As my Nikon FX equipment got too heavy for my likes (I'm a lens addict), I switch some years ago to the m43 system. Nowadays, I use an Olympus E-M1. When I go to the zoo, my main lens is an Olympus 50-200mm/2.8-35 lens with a TC14 when needed. For smaller critters, I use an Olympus 60mm/2.8 Macro lens. I also have the 8mm/1.7 fisheye, the 12-40mm/2.7, the 20mm/1.7 and the 45mm/1.8 lens. As most of the lenses are rather light, it is easy to pack them into the bag, just in case ...;)Feedback
When taking pictures in the zoo it is best to get an annual ticket and then just go for a few hours just in the morning when the zoo opens and in the evening. You get better light and less visitors (and often more active animals). Take your time. My best zoo shots often taken after I had to wait quite some time, sometimes to understand the daily routine of the animals, sometime just because the animals starting to move after some recreation time. I typically have my camera set to continous shooting, so whenever something unexpected happens, I'm ready to take a series of shots.