# Jaguar



## SCraig (Jul 5, 2012)

I visited the Chattanooga Zoo today and they have a gorgeous pair of Jaguars.  It was very hot, even at mid-morning, and they were not in much of a mood to move around.  One of them was back in the bushes where I could barely see her, and the other was draped across a large rock.  I had to shoot through a rather dirty sheet of double-pane glass so the shots aren't quite as sharp as I'd have liked but it's still easy to see what a beautiful cat this guy is.


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## WesternGuy (Jul 6, 2012)

Nice shots of a magnificent creature.  You managed to get the eyes in all three, an important aspect in wildlife photography, at least for me it is.
_________________
WesterrnGuy


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## JoshuaSimPhotography (Jul 6, 2012)

Number 2 I don't think you should have put the cage in, you want the animal to look free, even though it isn't but it depends on what you're trying to tell


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

WesternGuy said:


> Nice shots of a magnificent creature.  You  managed to get the eyes in all three, an important aspect in wildlife  photography, at least for me it is.


Yep, I agree.  Both that he is magnificent and that the eyes are important.  The eyes are the windows to the soul and I always do my best to get the eyes sharp even if everything else goes to heck   He was sleepy but would raise his head up and look around every few minutes.  I hung around that area about 30 minutes or so and each time he raised his head I'd shoot a string.



JoshuaSimPhotography said:


> Number 2 I don't think you should have put the cage in, you want the animal to look free, even though it isn't but it depends on what you're trying to tell


Granted the shot would have been better without the fence but I didn't PUT the fence there, it was just there and there was nothing I could do about it.  I was as close as I could get (my sunshade was literally against the glass trying to cut down the reflections), I was shooting at maximum aperture (f/4.5), he was on the rock, and the fence was behind him.  To get the entire cat in the shot I needed 90mm and at that short focal length the fence came into partial focus.  The others are at 200mm and over so the fence was out of focus.  When shooting at a zoo I take what I can get and sometimes it isn't exactly what I want or what would be the best shot, but there are no other choices.


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## cgipson1 (Jul 6, 2012)

Nice shots and a gorgeous animal, Scott!


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## FireDiva (Jul 6, 2012)

#3 is stunning, you caught the typical cat stare, beautiful, I would buy that shot!


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

cgipson1 said:


> Nice shots and a gorgeous animal, Scott!



Thanks, Charlie.  I agree about the gorgeous animal but the shots aren't all that great.



FireDiva said:


> #3 is stunning, you caught the typical cat stare, beautiful, I would buy that shot!



Thanks, I think that was #3 in a series of 6 or 7 shots.  He started out looking slightly to his left and as he turned his head I held the shutter down.  I think this was about the 3rd in the series.  Looking at it now the background looks a little washed out to me.  I may revisit the contrast some, it doesn't look right to me.

The shot isn't for sale but I'll be glad to give you a copy of it


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## LizardKing (Jul 6, 2012)

Magnificent animal... You did pretty well capturing it, specially #1


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

LizardKing said:


> Magnificent animal... You did pretty well capturing it, specially #1


Thanks!  I agree that he is a magnificent cat, not so much that I captured him that well.  I like the poses but the window I was shooting through was causing all kinds of problems.  Glad you like it though.


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## FireDiva (Jul 6, 2012)

Cats are so interesting , they can take you or leave you....I'd be pleased to have a copy....your work is beautiful.


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

FireDiva said:


> Cats are so interesting , they can take you or leave you....I'd be pleased to have a copy....your work is beautiful.


I agree, and thank you very much.  I have two cats here that mean more to me than anything else in the world.  They can put more expression into just the crinkle of an eye or the raising of a lip than most people can with an unlimited vocabulary.

Give me a little while, I want to look at that background a little bit.  I'll put a copy on my web site somewhere and PM you a link to it.


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

Minor edit to #3 - I darkened the background and increased the contrast some to separate the subject from the background better.   I also cropped it differently to eliminate the big light blob in the upper right corner.

Do you guys think this is an improvement or not?


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## Joel_W (Jul 6, 2012)

Scott, a really nice set. Your re-edit is the best of the set by quite a margin.


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

Joel_W said:


> Scott, a really nice set. Your re-edit is the best of the set by quite a margin.


Thanks, Joel.  Glad you like them.  I think the re-edit is an improvement as well, the background in the first edit just didn't work in my opinion.


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## FireDiva (Jul 6, 2012)

It is an improvement yes....SCraig......can't stop staring at his "if there wasn't galss here I'd....." stare.....lol


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## SCraig (Jul 6, 2012)

FireDiva said:


> It is an improvement yes....SCraig......can't stop staring at his "if there wasn't galss here I'd....." stare.....lol


Ha!  You're right, I think he would like to have me for lunch   I didn't post the one where he snarled at me.  It REALLY gives that impression


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## FireDiva (Jul 9, 2012)

My cat's eyes are the same color as his.....of course I wasn't pleased with his or his eyes this morning when he presented me with a live finch followed by a snake....lil b******.......both were rescued and released.....


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## SCraig (Jul 9, 2012)

FireDiva said:


> My cat's eyes are the same color as his.....of course I wasn't pleased with his or his eyes this morning when he presented me with a live finch followed by a snake....lil b******.......both were rescued and released.....


Now that I think about it one of my cats has the same color eyes:






He's a 1-year-old trouble-maker and is ALWAYS into something.  Luckily he's a house cat so he doesn't drag up things that are still alive


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## dylanstraub (Jul 10, 2012)

SCraig said:


> LizardKing said:
> 
> 
> > Magnificent animal... You did pretty well capturing it, specially #1
> ...



Oh IDK if you had not told us that you shot through the nasty double pane of plexiglass I would have not known. All are really good considering what you had to work with.


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## SCraig (Jul 10, 2012)

dylanstraub said:


> Oh IDK if you had not told us that you shot through the nasty double pane of plexiglass I would have not known. All are really good considering what you had to work with.


Thank you, I appreciate that.  I'm going to go back this fall and so help me I'm going to take some glass wipes with me.  Even though it's probably dirty on the other side it's the thought that counts 

Half of the animals were in areas that were glassed in, and some were even worse than this one.  It was so hot that most of them were just laying around.  The main reason I want was that they have a pair of Snow Leopards and I could barely even see them because they were so tucked into the shade.  I'll be back though and I'll know what to expect next time.


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## TiltShift (Jul 11, 2012)

Without doubt the most beautiful animal in the world. And some magnificent shots of it! I want one <3


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## SCraig (Jul 11, 2012)

TiltShift said:


> Without doubt the most beautiful animal in the world. And some magnificent shots of it! I want one <3


Thank you, I'm glad you like the shots.

I agree the Jaguar is ONE OF the most beautiful animals in the world, but I'm not sure about THE most beautiful.  Maybe, and maybe not.  The Nashville Zoo has a pair of Clouded Leopards and a pair of Bengal Tigers that come close to sharing that title as well.  There is just something about all of the big cats that makes it difficult for me to pick just one.  They are all so graceful and poised, even when they are resting.


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## Sbuxo (Jul 11, 2012)

Hard to believe there was glass. Amazing work!


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## SCraig (Jul 11, 2012)

Sbuxo said:


> Hard to believe there was glass. Amazing work!


Thank you.  Glass usually isn't much of a problem, I just put the lens hood right against it and it will knock out the reflections.  Anything on the glass is so close it won't focus.  This glass was just really dirty from some rain the night before.


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## ele89869 (Jul 17, 2012)

I just saw your photos, I hope you don't get tired of people saying how much they like them! Great set, specially your edit of #3. :cheers:


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## GraemeReen (Jul 17, 2012)

Very nice set last one for me


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## SCraig (Jul 17, 2012)

ele89869 said:


> I just saw your photos, I hope you don't get  tired of people saying how much they like them! Great set, specially  your edit of #3. :cheers:





GraemeReen said:


> Very nice set last one for me



Thank you both very much.  As soon as it cools off around here I'm going to go back and I'll be sure and tell him how everyone enjoyed his portrait.  All I did was trip the shutter, he did all the work by being there and posing for me.


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## raygunboost (Jul 25, 2012)

Loving the faded spot's and the photo angles nice job!


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