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The Biggest Kitty


The Biggest Kitty
Photo Information
Copyright: Scott Evers (scottevers7) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2631 W: 3 N: 3933] (12259)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-09-04
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Canon 20D, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS + EF 1.4X II, B+W UV MRC
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/60 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-09-04 23:07
Viewed: 1659
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 56
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is my first BIG CAT post. There have been many great photos of tigers posted to this site. I did not want to put one up until I felt that I had a pretty decent one myself. The St. Louis Zoo has a very nice area called Big Cat Country. Very large open area habitat for the cats. The problem is you are either looking thru wire mesh or down into open pit areas. Nice views but very bad shooting angles. So arriving very early in the morning with my buddy Scott Hale, we jumped the gate at a zoo railroad train station that was not open yet. Crossed the tracks and got to the edge on an open moat that was at perfect eye level with this very big male. We were able to get a few shots before getting chased out.


Amur Tiger - Panthera tigris altaica

Range: Eastern Russia, northeastern China, northern regions of North Korea
Habitat: Forests, bush-covered mountains
Conservation Status: Critically endangered

Tigers are the biggest cats in the world, and Amur tigers are the biggest subspecies (type) of tigers. They stand about three feet tall at the shoulder. This isn't quite as tall as a lion, but Amur tigers are longer and usually weigh more. Adult males can grow up to 11 feet long and weigh over 600 pounds; females are smaller -- up to nine feet long and about 370 pounds. Now those are some big kitties!

Cold-Climate Cats
Amur tigers live in a harsh environment, where extremely cold temperatures and deep snow are common. Their body is well-adapted to the cold climate. Take their large size, for instance. A big animal conserves heat better than a small one, so it's no surprise that Amur tigers are larger than other tiger subspecies, which live in warmer areas.

Besides being big, Amur tigers have other "built-in" ways to conquer the cold. They have a layer of fat (on their flanks and belly) that helps protect them from the elements. Their coats help, too: their fur is thick and long (especially during the cold winter months). And like most tigers, Amur tigers have a ruff of fur around their neck. This "scarf" is more developed in Amur tigers than in any other subspecies. Finally, these cats have built-in "snow boots" -- extra fur on the paws to protect them from the cold snow.

Like all tigers, their coat is golden-orange with dark stripes. They also have some patches of white on their belly, chest, throat, and muzzle. Compared with other kinds of tigers, Amur tigers have more white in their coat and fewer stripes.

It's estimated that only 350 to 450 Amur tigers survive in the wild. Besides being reduced in number, their range has been reduced. Once, they lived throughout much of Siberia and surrounding areas, and for this reason they were often called Siberian tigers. Today, with their reduced range, they're no longer found in Siberia or called by that name. (Their "new" name comes from the Amur River, which flows through the middle of their current, reduced range in Russia.)
marhowie, jcoowanitwong, pablominto, Dando, elefantino, claudine, SkyF, dew77, coasties, ScottHale, liquidsunshine, metcher, wallhalla15, jeanpaul, aido, touristdidi, NellyD, izler has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To aido: Name Changescottevers7 3 09-14 09:36
To mbasil: LOLScottHale 1 09-05 22:49
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Critiques [Translate]

Cool Cat Scott,
Well framed and great eye contact. Nice color, exposure, and detail, with your DOF isolating that big lovable face in the frame very well :)
Nice work mf.

Very good, Scott! Superb light and sharpness
Best regards
JJ

Hello Scott,
Big effort on your side to get this beautiful shot. Nicely composed with great pov,dof. Very well done indeed.
JC

Hello Scott,
Nice point of view!
Full frontal image of this impressive animal...
Well composed and with good details and fine colours!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 641 W: 32 N: 791] (3080)
  • [2006-09-05 4:18]

Hi Scott, nice shot of one of my favourite cats. Superb lighting, colours, exposure and details. Also good POV, well worh the effort I would say. Very well done and TFS.
Dean.

Really nice pose of your tiger, Scott!
I love the compo and the low POV .
Good details and color, too.
Great notes.
Andrea

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 787 W: 31 N: 20] (5002)
  • [2006-09-05 6:23]

Hi Scott,
good portrait, nice colours and fine DOF. Interesting note. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

Hello Scott, what a mean looking tiger, excllent colors, Bg, POV Perfect details, very crisp, Nice POV and composed great Job, TFS Kyle

Hi Scott,
Whou!!! I haven't seen this one yet! This is a beautiful portrait of this tiger. Congratulations for your first big cat, you did really great! Details, composition, colors and POV are very good! I love the way you captured him with his open mouth. Well done and TFS,
Claudine

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-09-05 8:35]

Hello Scott,
very nice! Excellent pose and very nice enviroment. Your portrait of this tiger is very well composed. Excellent POV and great OOF background. Sharpness, details and colors are great.
TFS..Sky

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-09-05 10:12]

Hello Scott,
Wonderful capture.I liked POV,colors,eye contact and composition a lot.
TFS...:-)

Ho Scott

What a regal beast. Just a beautiful shot. Auckland Zoo will be receiving 2 new tigers in the next month as the female died earlier this year from cancer. Hope to get some good shots coming this was real soon! TFS

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2192 W: 124 N: 2600] (8410)
  • [2006-09-05 13:50]

very nice photo Scott,
good quality job, fine details and a fine point of view, very nice shotand eye contact, very good job.
gr. jaap

  • Great 
  • wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 884 W: 2 N: 617] (2072)
  • [2006-09-05 13:57]

Fantastic shot scott , great compositie details colours his eyes pov bg ,tfs ,Greetings Teunie .

Scott,
If this were a song it'd be 'Stairway to Heaven". This Rocks! I did get quite a few good shots of this guy but yours seems so much better composed. Perfect eye contact and awesome DOF. Very detailed and intimidating looking. Superb in every way!
"and as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than out souls"....(ready to take another photo safari!)
Scott

  • Great 
  • Hil Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 750 W: 13 N: 1442] (4951)
  • [2006-09-05 16:34]

Hi Scott

Superb shot, lovely pose of this great looking Tiger relaxing, I like the way he is looking at you, maybe wondering what you taste like. The details are lovely and sharp and the colours are lovely too.

TFS Hilary :)

A fantastic first big cat post Scott,
I really like the effort you put into getting the shot.
The details are nice, clear and sharp.
superb colours, lighting and exposure. The POV is good.
Well composed.
Thanks for posting, have a great week.

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 0 N: 90] (7755)
  • [2006-09-05 19:16]

Hi Scott
Woww. Good tiger shot. Good sharpnes, light, colours, details, DOF and POV.
Well done Scott

osse

Nicely captured. Great details, lighting, and a good expression here. But I sure hope there was SOME barrier between you and this guy (or was that Hale's role)!
Mike

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2006-09-05 21:56]

Hi Scott

Nicely done.I like the story of how you got the shot.Wonderful POV and DOF.Lovely colours.TFS

Rob

Hi, Scott.
Nice cat! I like composition, pose and eye contact. Excellent exposure, details.

Hi Scott,
Did you take this guy to the barbershop first? His coat looks so nice and clean and it looks like he was brushed just that morning. Did you then ask him to give you his best look? You caught him beautifully and he's looking straight at you. Great colors and an excellent DOF.
TFS,
Niek

hi scott
on dirait sur cette photo que le tigre veux vous dire gentillement qu'il aimerait bien etre tranquille et que vous devriez le laisser.mais vous avez bien fait de l'importuner un peu pour tirer ce beau cliché.
laurent

Hello Scott,
pose is excellent, great work. Very good sharpness, details, colours and composition. Thanks for sharing.
Gr.
Heinz

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1095 W: 169 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-09-12 19:55]
  • [+]

Hi Scott,
Missed this one. A beautiful example and it looks as if he knows you're somewhere you shouldn't be :-) And you a Police Officer too :-) Good shot, perfect eye contact and great composition, the oof rock in the bg gives great balance. Good DOF and colours, excellent work and worth the effort of getting chased :-) There seems to have been a transition from 'Siberian' to 'Amur' over the last few years and I have no idea why.
Cheers,
Adrian

Nice....... this cat is beautful and huge looking!

  • Great 
  • NellyD Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 236 W: 0 N: 478] (1783)
  • [2006-09-28 10:31]

Hi Scott,

A great shot of this Amur Tiger. It's a very beautiful animal, and you caught him at a good moment, when he's looking your way.
Love the sharpness and colours.
Thanks for sharing and for the interesting note to.

Greetings, Nel

  • Great 
  • izler Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1335 W: 79 N: 929] (8620)
  • [2007-04-21 4:40]

hello scott
i see wonderful portrait photo of this big cat and great eye contact.
composition, point of view, depth of field, colours, lighting, sharpness and details are great
thanks for sharing
regards
izler

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