Tiger Cuddle at Bronx Zoo

This is definitely one of my favorite shots and it's a perfect example of total luck meeting perseverance.

I love going to the zoo when it snows and I look forward to it all year. Imagine your own private zoo on a day when the animals are particularly active and the day is particularly beautiful.

I turned the corner and saw that I was alone with the tigers and they were being amazingly adorable by all cuddling in a lump on a rock. My camera was solidly packed away with a rain cover on top of my pack, so I (gently) threw my bag to the ground, gloves and pack cover torn asunder, camera grabbed and set up as quickly as possible in case the photo opportunity might be lost.

The big cats were looking off to the left so I snapped a number of photos that weren't quite right. Then two very little kids came in and the tigers immediately perked up with intense interest as the kids came to stand by my side. You can guess why, yourself. ;)

There was a pretty heavy cloud cover and the animals were moving so I cranked up the ISO to cover my bases. I also used a narrow depth of field (small aperture) to put the focus on the tigers and compensate for the low light.

Canon EOS 60D
f-6.3, 1-400 sec, ISO 1000, 70mm

Lens:
EF 70-300mm f-4-5.6L IS
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