The Predator
Justin paces his enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. He'd perk up every time my son would make a noise or run around. Babyback ribs, anyone?...
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Justin paces his enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. He'd perk up every time my son would make a noise or run around. Babyback ribs, anyone?
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Dec, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the National Zoo in Washington, DC in the best part of the park - the cheetah exhibit.Time
It was taken in the later afternoon. I had been bugging the husband about taking a trip to the zoo so that I could get some photos of the cheetahs for International Cheetah Day on December 4th. We packed up the boys (then 3.5 years and 6 months) and sat in the parking lot that makes up the roads of DC for what felt like days. It was a race to beat the clock - the sun sets early in late November and it was almost feeding time. Justin (pictured) and his sister Carmelita were pacing the fenceline waiting for their rabbits. My oldest boy was hollering and making typical little kid sounds. I don't know if it was interesting to him or just as annoying as it is to frazzled parents, but at one point, Justin paused mid-stride and seemed to stare right into my camera. This moment was captured on November 23rd, 2013 around 5pm.Lighting
For lighting, I told the sun where to point its rays, haha. It took a little bit of adjusting, but I had to choose a spot where the light rays were hitting through the trees and weren't terribly dappled. I don't think the zoo would appreciate me bringing a portable lighting kit to their property and jumping the fence to set it up.Equipment
This was shot my trusty Canon 5D MkII and the 100-400mm lens I was renting for an event a few weeks later.Inspiration
I wanted some photos of the cheetahs for International Cheetah Day, which is celebrated on December 4th of every year. Cheetahs are also one of my favorite animals.Editing
Because I shoot RAW, I always need to run my photos through some basic post-processing. Because I wanted this to be in black and white, however, it required additional work. 99.9% of the time, I do all of my editing in Lightroom. I did a basic conversion to black and white, boosted the highlights, deepened the shadows, and did a little more detail work with some dodge and burn brushes. I emphasized the natural vignette from the lens hood used a light detail brush over his face (with extra attention to his eyes and nose) to bring out the texture of the features.In my camera bag
I always have my trusty Canon 5D MkII in my bag - it's older, but reliable in both quality and durability. My 7D is usually tucked away in the bag as well. When photographing fast animals, you need a speedy body. My 70-200 f/2.8 is almost always attached to whichever body I'm using. It's heavy, durable, and absolutely amazing. Other times, I'll have the 17-40mm on for fun, wide images. Until recently, I had a 50mm f/1.4 which was wonderful for portraits. Unfortunately, a bull at a rodeo didn't agree with that.Feedback
Research, patience, and some more patience. If you want to photograph animals, you'll need to know their habits. Read ahead. If you're going to be photographing at a zoo, find out when the feeding times or playing times are. That's usually when the animals will perk up. You need patience. Animals don't understand the whole, "pause right there, tilt your head just a hair this way". If they did, my job would be a million times easier. You may need to wait a few hours or visit numerous times before you get the photo you're thinking of. If you can, go without kids or spouses, they don't understand the need for patience no matter what you bribe them with. A good zoom or lens over 100mm that shoots wide open is a must. The distance makes it seem like you were close to the animal while the open aperture allows you to blur out distracting elements like fences, other people, or the awkward piles of poop.
