Paws for Thought

Gallery: WildlifePosted May 4, 2011253 views14 comments

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 200mm, Shutter Priority @ f/2.8 (1/1250 sec), +1/3 EV, ISO 400, Handheld, Shaved about 5% in Total off the Upper and RH edges, Captive Subject

This is the last (for now!) in this series I captured of this magnificent Indo-Chinese Tiger being fed scraps of meat from a long boom at my local open zoo.

While Tigers apparently don't mind water nearly as much as most other felines, they don't waste much time before attempting to dry themselves off soon as they can.

I captured a number of similar shots, but I like this one the most, mainly for the tongue caught in mid-lick and the intensity of the Tiger's stare, bearing into one of the onlookers it no doubt was thinking would make for a much more satisfying meal than the scraps it was currently being fed, if only it could figure out how to get it's paws on it :^. ;^) :^)

Critique and comments always appreciated, and thanks in advance :^)

P.S. I was hesitant as to whether I should bother posting this one, as I suspect the same point mentioned several times on the previous two in this series will come up again and perhaps mar most people's enjoyment of this one, but I thought I'd post it up anyway, as I like it a lot ;^)

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on May 4, 2011 at 4:40 AM

Ashley ..I like this the most ( all are stunning images) for the light on tigers face, and its expression ..well done

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 4, 2011 at 11:01 AM

Very nice Ashley! I have enjoyed seeing this series of tiger photos. I like the expression you have caught in all of them. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on May 4, 2011 at 12:21 PM

What a great series Ashley! This image clearly shows off this magnificent tiger. The really like the gray background as it makes the colors in his fur and tongue stand out so wonderfully. If I had to choose (which would be difficult) I think I love the total craziness of the first image the best. Thanks for showing these to us.

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on May 4, 2011 at 1:17 PM

Very nice detail Ashley. I love that licking tongue. Excellent comp, well done!

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on May 4, 2011 at 3:18 PM

Ashley, this is on top of your series, for me and I subscribe your decision to post it. Il like the DOF and the fact that both the paw and the nose are in focus. You risked, with F2.8, but You got it. I like also the paw, the tongue and the light in the eye.

Luca

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on May 4, 2011 at 8:42 PM

Many thanks for your kind words and comments Balan, John, Carol, Darren, Scott, and Luce, very much appreciated :^)

Carol: Just so you know, in case you missed reading it in my rather long intro to this series on the first thread I posted, the only major adjustment I made was in HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance), by shifting the Aqua and Blue sliders all the way to the left (-100) in all three, as well as Green in Saturation; in this way I was able to get rid of any signs of that horrible blue coloured pool as well as reduce the not-so-nice-coloured green hue of the water.

For some this might be considered too much manipulation, of an image, but I was very pleased the resulting effect I don't mind saying ;^)

Oh, and much as I love all these shots, the crazy eye bang in the centre of the head shake and swirling streams of water out to the sides is my personal favourite too :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Kedar Bhat on May 5, 2011 at 5:23 AM

Very nice. Enjoyed this one too

Registered on April 7, 2008, 77 Posts, 357 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on May 5, 2011 at 12:22 PM

Hey Ashley,

Another interesting shot - you obviously had a fun session with this guy! In absolute terms I would argue for a vertical crop with more of the tiger shown. I understand the constraints of the enclosure and your shooting situation, but feel it's best to give you feedback in terms of what I think would improve the image in absolute terms (and without being there I can't really judge the constraints you had and what you "should" have done given those constraints - that's up to you!

). The colour and detail of the subject look very good, and it's definitely an appealing pose (and I do love the tongue). I think that the background worked really well when it blended with the water droplets of the previous posts, but now it appears artificial to me (almost like a backdrop in a studio). So...this image DOES look to me like a captive capture, while it would have been really hard to think this with the previous two.

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on May 5, 2011 at 1:24 PM

Hi Ashley, I haven't commented on the others of your tiger series yet, but must say that this sure is a special series of images! With this one I am only left wondering if it would be even better presented if some of the water was included, like in the other images. Thanks for sharing these.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on May 5, 2011 at 10:42 PM

This entire series has been pleasing, Ashley.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Grant Collier on May 6, 2011 at 1:44 AM

Nice!

Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments

Comment posted by Marsel van Oosten on May 6, 2011 at 7:25 AM

To me this doesn't look captive at all, just oddly framed.

I like the weird background and the pose quite a bit, but I prefer the other two shots.

Registered on March 9, 2004, 285 Posts, 2277 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on May 6, 2011 at 3:18 PM

Looks guilty. But you already mentioned it watching the onlookers, so I won't ask who did it eat?
This has been a very nice series, Ashley. Great techs in all and you seemed to capture the animal's personality throughout. But for this image I suggest cropping about 2 inches off the right side, so that it's still a rectangular format, just not quite so much space. I feel this "extra" space you've got draws concentration away from the subject.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on May 7, 2011 at 12:43 AM

Many thanks for the kind words and greatly valued feedback Kedar, Brad, Vincent, Lon, Grant, Marcel, and Wayne, very much appreciated :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments