Baby Tigers!!!! ( 7 imgs)

[snostorm]

Hi ALL,

When I saw that one of our local zoos had just released their two baby Amur Tigers for public viewing last Friday, I made plans to go take some pics. I took the K10, Tamron SP80-200/2.8 ED, FA*300/4.5, the F 1.7x AFA, and 4 gigs of memory. In all, I took 1050 shots in a couple of hours, all handheld. I used Av priority and Auto ISO between 100-400 because the lighting ranged from bright direct sun to dark shade, with pretty much nothing in between. All the exifs that show 350mm were taken with the 80-200 and the 1.7x AFA (at various FLs, mostly between 200-300 with the TC) , the 300mm ones were with the FA*300 alone, and the 500mm ones were with the FA*300 and the 1.7x AFA.

The Amur (Siberian) Tigers are the biggest of the cats, and apparently like to swim. These little guys are about as tall as beagles, but a lot stockier -- they weigh about 75 lbs apiece, are pretty active, and as you can imagine, incredibly cute.

Thought I'd share some with you, so here are a few of the better ones. . .

Getting used to the new "rock star" status


Where'd mom go . . .


Okay, there she is. . .


I'll wait here until she looks away, then I'll surprise her. . .


Okay . . . here's my chance . . .


Bet you guys wouldn't dare do this!!!. . .


That should be enough entertainment for my adoring public. . .


Unfortunately it was pretty hot, and that's not good for me -- I'll be going back when it's a bit cooler--

If you guys like these, I've got a lot more. . .

Scott

Edit -- oops, none with the FA*300 alone among these -- all but the last with the SP80-200 w/1.7x

[jachol]

Hi,
Excellent shots !. Like all young cats they're very cute. I'd love to see more. ... Jack.

[wadue]

Great series, Scott! No clear favorite...you really had fun with these! Let's see some more!

THanks for sharing!
Ron

[Trojansoc]

Great series. The first and last were my favorites, although I also liked the one of the little guy going after Mom's leg. Truly beautiful animals. I hope we'll be seeing more of them as they grow up. I might have cropped a little closer on the first one to remove some of the background at the top.

[penolta]

You couldn't get a cat to pose for you again like #1 if you tried - that is classic.

And the pounce and bite sequence is terrific, too. Great fun

[Keithw]

Real nice! Now if only you could sneak one out as a pet ...

[mtngal]

Wonderful series, Scott - I love the stalking series!

[snostorm]

Hi Jack, Ron, TS, penolta, Keith, and Harriet,

Thanks for taking a look and for your comments. Despite the heat, I had a lot of fun at the zoo with the tigers. I'm a sucker for animal babies. I've got a gazillion more images to PP for printing, and plan to go back next week to shoot some more when it's supposed to be cooler.

TS -- My usual inclination is to crop pretty tightly (to feature detail in birds) and I did do a version of #1 like that because the proportions were right, but when I compared the two, the tight crop made the cub look bigger, and I wanted him/her to look small. The background wasn't intrusive or busy so I decided to leave it in.

Scott

[Trojansoc]

snostorm wrote:

TS -- My usual inclination is to crop pretty tightly (to feature detail in birds) and I did do a version of #1 like that because the proportions were right, but when I compared the two, the tight crop made the cub look bigger, and I wanted him/her to look small. The background wasn't intrusive or busy so I decided to leave it in.

Good rationale--it's a sensational shot either way.

[Dal1970]

Truly wonderful shots.



Also glad to see that I am not the only one who can blow 1000 shots at an all day event (zoo, display, concert etc).



Dal