moffatman

Amur Leopard

Panthera pardus orientalis. Taken at Edinburgh Zoo.

Panthera pardus orientalis. Taken at Edinburgh Zoo.

Read less

Apr, 2016

Views

426

Likes

+63

Awards

Fall Award 2020

Top Choice

+11

Superb Composition

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 3

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

Taken in Edinburgh Zoo on Tuesday the 25th October, 2011

Time

1534 (3.24 pm)

Lighting

The lighting was natural, and adequate, despite branches of a tree overhanging the Leopard's enclosure.

Equipment

Shot with a Canon EOS 450d and a Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD lens, using the enclosure fence as an armrest.

Inspiration

These animals are endangered in the wild. I believe that to date (2016) there are less than 100 left. Even in 2011, these Leopards were an endangered species, and here I had an ideal opportunity to record this magnificent cat in close proximity.

Editing

Some of the fence chain link was visible toward the edge of the image, so I cropped the picture to remove these rather than try and deal with them using software. I also increased the highlights slightly and added a little fill light in Picasa 2, otherwise the image is much as it was recorded in camera.

In my camera bag

Nowadays I use a Canon EOS 70D DSLR, a Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM Zoom Lens; Canon EFS 55-250mm IS Zoom; Canon EFS 18-55mm Lens, and Fujifilm X-S1 Bridge camera.

Feedback

I was very lucky to have managed a decent capture, despite the chain link fence, which often causes problems when photographing animals in the Zoo environment. In this instance I cropped, but would have preferred to have found a bigger gap in the fence (around gate hinges, or a glass panel for instance, although this has its own problems!), but this just wasn't an option. If the fence is blatantly obstructive, it helps to use a wide aperture, which may help resolve the problem. If you have the option to shoot through glass, again, not always ideal, try and keep the lens as close to, and parallel to the glass as possible to avoid reflections. Try wiping the glass to remove fingerprints, and avoid areas with scratches if possible.

See more amazing photos, follow moffatman

moffatman

moffatman

Amur Leopard

Panthera pardus orientalis. Taken at Edinburgh Zoo.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow moffatman

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.