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Cougar cubs
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Cougar cubs



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS 70D

settings Aperture f/5 ISO 320 Shutter 1/320 Focal Length 70/1 

upload_dateAug, 2015

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2712

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Awards

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Contest Finalist in Cuteness Overload Photo Contest
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Superior Skill
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Genius
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3 Comments |
Natgirl73
 
Natgirl73 August 15, 2015
Adorable
Lostforphotography
 
Lostforphotography October 27, 2015
Awe how cute. This is so adorable. I love it. I love how they are so playful. Such beautiful chemistry between the two.
nandicmb
 
nandicmb December 09, 2015
Congratulations on your Contest Finalist win in Cuteness Overload Photo Contest!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#cougar #animals #cubs
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Behind The Lens

Location

I visited a private venue which promotes the wellbeing of cats such as the Snow Leopard and Amur Leopard. It is not a zoo and not generally open to the public. They do, however, have photo workshops available on occasions. The highlight of the day was being allowed in the enclosure with a litter of three 12 week old cougar cubs. They were so fast, and zipped round the enclosure like mad things. It was fun to watch them play together. We weren't allowed to touch them, as they were wild animals, but the thrill when they raced over your feet was immeasurable! I am pleased to say the Mother Cougar was safely tucked up in the bed area, so we were safe.

Time

The photo was taken late in the afternoon after a fantastic day photographing the other cats.

Lighting

I used natural lighting for this photograph. It was a warm, sunny day, and I took advantage of the clouds drifting across the sun to lessen the issue of harsh shadows on the cubs.

Equipment

The camera used was my Canon 70D, and my 70-200mm f4 L lens, which was almost too long at the short end! I had other lenses with me, but they were outside of the enclosure behind the locked gate. Taking the tripod in was not feasible so this was handheld. To get down to their level I sat on a log in the enclosure and waited for them to come to me, rather than chasing them around on foot. My patience was rewarded with this wonderful shot.

Inspiration

I am a mad lover of all big cats, a fact you can probably see from the number of photos of them that I have shared here! When this opportunity came up I grabbed it with both hands. Being allowed in with the cubs was a real pleasure and a day I will remember for a long time. I loved how the cubs played together like house kittens would, learning skills that in the wild they would need when grown up.

Editing

I just altered the sliders a little in Lightroom to adjust the exposure slightly for this photograph. I am not into a lot of post processing but did crop the shot slightly.

In my camera bag

All my DSLRs have been Canon, starting with a 100D and moving up to first the 70D, which I used here, and now the 7D mark 2. My lenses include the 70-200mm f4 (non IS), 400mm f5.6L, 18-135mm, 50mm f1.8, 100mm macro and the 10-20mm wide angle, all from Canon. I recently added the Tamron 150-600mm to my collection. I rarely use filters, but do have a polarising and Neutral Density filter in my back in case they are needed.

Feedback

The main task here was getting a fast enough shutter speed without increasing the ISO too high. My new camera allows for higher ISO shots, without losing quality. The cubs never stayed still for more than a moment so composition was also tricky. I advise leaving room around the subject to allow for sudden movement and for cropping later in necessary. Also try to wait for the animals to "do" something interesting, such as the play fighting here, rather than just taking a record shot of them.

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