Sketch

Amur Leopard

Jun, 2012

Views

885

Likes

+25

Awards

Action Award

Chatter Award

Zenith Award

Creative Winter Award

Curator's Selection

2020 Choice Award

Outstanding Creativity

+10

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Exceptional Contrast

Jaw Dropping

Magnificent Capture

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

NICE!

Thanks! :)

very nice

Thank you! :)

Beautiful!

Thank you! :)

muy bien!

Muchas gracias! :D

Beautiful!!

Thank you! (:

One of my favorite creatures! Nice shot!

Thank you so much! (: They are very pretty animals. :)

Exceptional use of light and shadows...voted!

Thank you! (:

Really interesting picture.

Thank you! (:

Majestic!

Thanks! ^.^

epic. amazing photo

Thank you so much! :)

This is Amazing!!!

Thank you! (:

Beautiful capture. Good luck

Thanks! :D

Beautiful color and texture in the fur. Pops so much against that cold stone.

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

A lovely woman who seemed to fit right in with the scene around her.

This is a picture of a bird that was sitting in a bush in Columbia. :)

Along a trail I found in North Carolina. :)

We just got some big storms in MN, one produced a double rainbow and some nice lightning. :)

A cross sitting partway up Mount Pilatus

A little white flower on a cactus. Taken at the MN Arboretum in Victoria

I took this while in the car and snapped it while we passed by. (: I love the color of it.

This was taken at Disney World on Kilimanjaro Safaris, while I was wedged between my sister and two unknown women.

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was shot at the Minnesota Zoo on the day of a field trip with my Chinese class. I had started teaching myself how to take photos two years prior, so I thought it would be a great learning experience.

Time

This was at around eleven o'clock on a cold winter day in Minnesota. While there was no snow on the ground within the enclosure, it had snowed more than seven inches the week before.

Lighting

All of the light in this photograph natural. The shadows come from the darkness in the room that my friend and I were in, and the leopard was pressed right up against the glass like he had just woken up and wasn't ready for the sun to come up quite yet.

Equipment

This was shot using my Nikon D5100 with a standard Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm lens. I did not use a flash due to the glass nor did I use a tripod.

Inspiration

I was inspired to take this photo because I wanted to show the juxtaposition between the beautiful leopard and its dark, gloomy surroundings. Amur leopard numbers continue to decrease and it is thanks to organizations like the Minnesota Zoo that they are able to be preserved and protected.

Editing

For this photo, I focused on enhancing the color of the leopard's fur while burning the shadows in order to increase the contrast. I upped the saturation of the fur and adjusted the contrast of the photo as a whole in order to really make the colors pop.

In my camera bag

As a broke teenager, I make do with what I have! I generally carry my Nikon D5100 as well as my Nikkor 55-200 mm lens. I always carry two extra fully charged batteries and some extra SD cards just in case. If I'm doing a portrait session, I will usually bring a reflector as well as my dad's old Nikon SB-18 speed light, but rarely use them as I prefer natural light.

Feedback

Don't be afraid to use shadows and surroundings in order to create a more dramatic effect! Light can make or break a photograph, as can lack of it. Try to work with angles in order to cast light in a way that makes the subject really stand out from its surroundings.

See more amazing photos, follow Sketch

Sketch

Sketch

Amur Leopard

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Sketch

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

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