Cheetah Stare
Mar, 2019Views
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Awards
Spring 21 Award
Judge Favorite
Celebrity Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at the Mogo Zoo in New South Wales, Australia.Time
I love taking photos of animals, usually Australian natives, but y friend invited me to a day at her local zoo and I had a field day. This would have been taken later in the day after wandering around most of the morning. This guy was clearly checking me out and fascinated with the sounds of the camera. He started at me for a long time.... I was really glad we were separated by a fence.Lighting
As it was near the end of our day, the lighting lended itself to this shot very easily. This guy was very accommodating in his position and made the shot.Equipment
I only used my canon 60D with a 55/250mm lens, handheld. With animals I find a tripod cumbersome.Inspiration
At a zu inspiration is everywhere although I try to compose the shot without the cage or fencing to take away from the fact the animal is in an enclosure. I guess I’m cheating by making it look like it was taken in the wild, but would you get this close to a wild cheetah?Editing
I do use Lightroom to brighten up the images to appear more like I actually see it. The colours are made more realistic too by using s little extra saturation.In my camera bag
Always keep an extra, charged battery; extra memory cards; lens cleaning cloth; a wide angle lens; a zoom lens and the standard 50mm.Feedback
I find that with animals the main requirement is patience and the ability to be very still and quiet. This is sometimes difficult in a zoo environment when children family are enjoying themselves. I generally go where the families have already been and try to attend nearer the end of the day when the lighting is at its best and the animals are more likely to be resting and appear more in their natural state.
