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Panthera Completely Boredus


Panthera Completely Boredus
Photo Information
Copyright: Adrian Hutton (aido) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1097 W: 168 N: 1218] (4046)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2000
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Nikon F90x, Nikkor AF-ED 300mm f/4
Exposure: f/4
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Photographers *own* Favourites, Great Portraits Part Two [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-02-20 13:33
Viewed: 2826
Favorites: 9 [view]
Points: 84
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Ok, I might have made up that latin name :) This is Zach the Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia), twin brother of Alegna, born at Marwell Zoo in the UK a few years ago. At this age he was a real character, on this morning he started out curious but soon appeared to be bored, but still kept shifting around to face me, whether he was still curious or just wanted to keep an eye on me I’m not sure. I think curious because of the continued eye contact.

Shot through wire on film and scanned so no exif data. Minimum post-processing: removed artifacts from the scan, noise reduction and sharpening, cropped the top off and framed. In this shot his eyes were a little dull so I dodged the light catchment areas in each eye a little.

Generic Snow Leopard info included again for completeness.

One of the most beautiful and elusive cats in the world, the snow leopard lives only in the snowy mountains of central Asia. Though the snow leopard is considered a "Big Cat", it is noticeably smaller than the other big cats with the average male only weighing about 50 kg. Solitary hunters, the snow leopard ambushes its prey aided by the camouflage of its light colored fur with dark rosettes. Prey ranges from gamebirds and hares to sheep and domestic livestock. In the wild, the snow leopard faces competition from only one species: man. Hunted for their remarkable coats and killed to protect livestock, the snow leopard, like all big cats, is facing the threat of extinction.

There are an estimated 4,500 to 7,500 snow leopards remaining in the wild, and more than 600 are in zoos in the United States alone. The biggest threats to the snow leopard's survival are loss of habitat and slaughter by man. Snow leopards are officially listed as an endangered species and commercial trade is outlawed by international treaty, but there remains a market for their beautiful furs as well as their bones (to be used in traditional Asian medicine). Another serious problem besides poaching are the snow leopards killed by herdsmen. Most of these herdsmen are extremely poor and the loss of a single animal is a significant one. Recent programs have begun which provide incentives (such as food or clothing) for these people in return for protecting rather than competing with the rare cats. Research and conservation efforts on the snow leopard are led by the International Snow Leopard Foundation.

carper, wuta, naimonetti, rodosranger, Tommysugar, Dando, red45, dew77, Eko, thistle, livios, PDP, Janice, touristdidi, mrcrow, MacroMundo, firelord, snowfalken, coasties, Watershed, vmukherjee has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To mrcrow: Hi Geofaido 1 03-20 12:33
To touristdidi: Hi Gloriaaido 1 03-08 19:57
To PDP: Hi Paulaido 1 02-23 17:54
To naimonetti: Hi Nicholeaido 1 02-20 14:54
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3072 W: 232 N: 5866] (19726)
  • [2006-02-20 13:39]

A wonderful expression, and aptly named. : )
You have caught the essence of this beautiful rare big cat.
Great eye contact and sharp details on the face.
The back of the cat seems a bit burned, but no matter.
Great shot, Adrian, and TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2165 W: 124 N: 2567] (8208)
  • [2006-02-20 13:53]

yes it´s a very good expression you have capture, the quality is very high, the composition is well taken, the details are super, well framed, very special. very good job Adrian.
gr. jaap

  • Great 
  • wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 871 W: 2 N: 606] (2034)
  • [2006-02-20 14:04]

Hay Adrian , what a lovely photo ,beaty eyes ,
good shot ,very sharp ,good coulors ,thanks
very nice evening ,Teunie .

A very nice expression, crispy picture, well captured. Seems melancholic. Thanks.

Hi Adrian!
Beautiful, sweet cat ;-) Excellent portrait, beautiful colors, light, pose and details! perfrct work!
TFS ;-)
regards
Dorota

You invented a perfect 'Latin' name for this fellow, Adrian.
Very cute posture and well captured.

So sweet! Beautiful, clear shot of his eyes; I really like your aperature choice too- it adds to the gently feeling of the picture. Looks like we both posted "bored" captive animals today... :)
Excellent composition and frame choice.

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1592 W: 32 N: 1361] (3978)
  • [2006-02-20 14:43]

hello Adrian,
A great shot.
A beautiful animal,you've captured his expression very well.
Lovely colours and excellent composition.
Superb.
TFS

With perhaps the burned out spot on the left side, this is formidable image. The expression of the little big feline is pricelesss! The fuzzed out BG work perfect.

  • Great 
  • Aramok Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 922 W: 99 N: 1396] (4799)
  • [2006-02-20 15:24]

what a wonderful expression and the subtly colours are excellent.
I really like the composition.
Emma

Hello Adrian!
It's amazing shot.... so cute and so - lovely :-)))
I like tenderness in your photo. You must really love animals!

  • Great 
  • Swifti (4)
  • [2006-02-20 16:35]

WOW ANOTHER 1 SOOOOO CUTE GREAT CAPTURE, AND HIGH QUALITY! TFS swifti

Very nice portrait of a fantastic animal!
Good work, bye Tom

  • Great 
  • james (74)
  • [2006-02-20 20:06]

excellent photo, wonderful subject, i like the composition. thanks for sharing...james

Another great capture in this set Adrian,
Early morning rush, well worth the big smiley.
Thanks for posting, have a good week.

Gets a big smile from me...you have perfectly captured the life of a captive kitten here...

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 643 W: 32 N: 790] (3052)
  • [2006-02-21 4:24]

Hi Adrian, great portrait of Zach. I love that bored expression on his face. Well captured and TFS.
Dean.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2830 W: 75 N: 8025] (26863)
  • [2006-02-21 8:35]

Hi Adrian!

Master work! Pose and eyes - so cute, so touching! This beautifull cat looks so lonely... Picture full of emotions. Great work!

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1330 W: 107 N: 4816] (21378)
  • [2006-02-21 9:15]

Very tender picture, so cute. Good sharpness, well composed. Thanks,

Mario

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-02-21 10:14]

Hello Adrian!
What a cute cat.I liked POV,clear details,sharpness,
eye contact,expression on face and composition a
lot.TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • Eko Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 187 W: 10 N: 38] (121)
  • [2006-02-21 11:14]

Excellent portrait Adrian!
I liked clear eyes and thoughtful look very much.
Thanks for sharing.

That'a another lovely picture of this little beauties.
Love the POV and pose of the kitten. Tight framing works very well and the photo has very good quality as for the scan.
I think you really know how to photograph big cats. I hope we will see many more of such lovely pictures.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2306 W: 324 N: 4306] (16856)
  • [2006-02-22 21:31]

Adrian, this is realy lovely.

Excellent sharpness, pose and composition. The blurred bg highlights the animal.

Congratulations.

Eccellente scatto! Bravo. Grazie perchè lo condividi con noi.

Ciao

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2964 W: 366 N: 3848] (11755)
  • [2006-02-23 17:40]
  • [+]

Hello Adrian, this is a very cute one. The eyes are gorgeous and it's a great composition. The left hand side has a little bit of over exposure but I can't say too much about that as I can't appreciate the original film version. Well done.

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3452 W: 144 N: 5902] (17486)
  • [2006-02-23 19:29]

Each photo you show is more and more cuter Paul! I love the blue eyes here, and the look he's giving you. Don't you just want to stop and pick him up and cuddly him??? Yes, I know, too heavy!!!
Excellent capture, a good job,
Janice

  • Great 
  • mtylek (11)
  • [2006-02-25 9:28]

sweet litlle kitten :)
great compo and nice dof
regard ewa :)

  • Great 
  • TPAKT Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 124 W: 22 N: 18] (79)
  • [2006-02-28 10:47]

Ïðèâåò Adrian/
Very for a long time it is possible to look in these eyes. A magnificent portrait of the sad panther. The mood of an animal is well handed. Bravo!

Beautiful
Very well captured, good lighting and composition

He is so beautiful. I think he looks sad, sad to be caged, bored with life. But safe from poachers I hope. (poachers kill even in Indian zoos)

  • Great 
  • Norok Silver Star Critiquer [C: 22 W: 2 N: 7] (201)
  • [2006-03-11 7:25]

Hi Adrian,
Excellent capture of this wonderful image,
Great composition with nice scene.
Thanks for sharing!
Marius

:D
i must have missed this one...your latin is good!!
the eyes of this cat are interesting and quite lucid blue...i wonder if it is to do with the snowy environment...as all the savannah cats have yellowish eyes...sort of match the colour of the grasses..
cheers
geof

So cute! I enjoyed reading your note on how this small animal kept his eyes always upon you. The expression on his face is precious. Very good composition/crop, and the image is full of emotion which I like. Well done.

Wow, Great position of the model.
Beautiful animal. i love the composition.
good job

  • Great 
  • zeca Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 378 W: 14 N: 533] (2831)
  • [2006-03-27 10:46]

What a nice capture, Adrian! Cute face! Nice colours, sharpness and great POV.
Cheers!
Zeca

Wonderful shot Adrian!!! lovely eyes!!!

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2351 W: 61 N: 3811] (12226)
  • [2006-05-26 8:57]
  • [2]

I have been looking and laughing at this shot for minutes! A very smart made-up name! Extremely cute snow leopard, can I bite him? :o)
A very well captured shot with great shapness and details on the face.
TFS
(He's on the way to my favorites now)

  • Great 
  • Vicky Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 56 W: 0 N: 94] (468)
  • [2006-07-13 17:22]

Hi Adrian,
Their expressions don't really change, but their faces seem to say so much...and you have chosen a very apt name for this shot! Same as all the other pics in your gallery, it's outstanding. Colours, PoV and composition are perfect and he has the most amazing blue eyes! Well done and thanks for sharing him. Best wishes, Vicky

As it's your favourite, I'll do the honours. It may be an early photo for you but it's still technically very accomplished. Great DOF and composition and those blue eyes are just charming.
Andy

Hi Adrian

Just so cute! Adorable face with beautiful blue eye. Stunning shot. Thank you!

Hi Adrian,
I really love this photograph. The colours, composition and details are perfect!
Very well done Adrian!
Stéph

great, sad face, TFS Ori

Great shot! The pov, composition, sharp focus and the way the leopard is lying, all look amazing. The shallow dof makes the face stand out. Also it seems the little bit of over-exposure works very well for this image, giving it a soft feeling. One can feel almost the texture of the soft fur :) .

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