Dressed To Chill

Wildlife photography is all about patience. The animals you want to photograph are totally clueless about both photography and modelling, so you can try to work on your thought control, but chances are that you will just have to wait. And that’s exactly what I did here.

This sharp dressed panda was sleeping in this tree, and for a long time the only it moved was one of its eyelids. Most people would give up after 5 minutes, the more serious ones would give it 15 or so, and the very serious photographers might stay for an hour. After all:

Maybe there’s another panda a little bit further up that’s awake?
What if I’m missing something really cool at the other side of the reserve?
Man, it’s hot, I could use a drink.
This panda makes me want to get some Oreo cookies.

Thoughts like that make people want to move on. I’m the guy that prefers to wait it out. That often means that I do miss other stuff that’s going on elsewhere, but I believe that if I really want something to happen, I should give it time. I really liked this panda, the tree, the background and the light, so all the ingredients for a good shot were there. Every now and then the panda would move, making me believe that it was about to wake up, only to turn around and face away from me. Then I had to walk around to the other side to set up my tripod, and then after a few minutes the panda would move back again. I must admit that there were moments where I though about giving up, but then logic would convince me to stay: it has to wake up at some point.

And then it did - and how! It’s one of the nicest panda poses I’ve ever seen, so I’m really glad that I got rewarded for my patience. Good things come to those who wait.

I apologise for the excessive watermarks, but this is the kind of shot that will get stolen a lot by wallpaper websites and Chinese companies - been there, done that.

Oh, and fun fact: pandas can poop up to 40 times a day.

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If you would like to photograph pandas, and the endangered black snub-nosed monkeys and golden monkeys, then join us to China! We had a last minute group cancellation, so we have 4 openings on our 2017 tour. This trip filled up within 48 hours of first announcing it, so don’t hesitate and check out the China’s Endangered Wildlife photo tour page on our website for more information and bookings: http:--www.squiver.com-tours-workshops-china-wildlife-2017-

Marsel

©2017 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
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