The lions and tigers are kept in an indoor area know as Big Cat Country. The enclosures have large glass viewing areas that let you get right next to the cats. This is great for close up portraits, but can be a challenge too. The glass tended to have finger prints and scratches that you had to be aware of so they didn’t get in the picture. The lighting in there was challenging too.  It was fairly dark, so a high ISO was required. This tiger image was shot at ISO 1600 with my aperture wide open and I still had a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. I was hand holding my telephoto lens zoomed in to 235mm, thank goodness for image stabilization because I didn’t have my tripod. Next time I go I’ll have it.

This tiger was so neat. It was almost like it was posing for me. It kept changing positions and each one was more beautiful than the last. Of all the shots I took of it, this is my favorite. I’ve seen our own cats lay like this so many times, it makes me want to go up and scratch behind it’s ears.

————————————

This month’s photo was taken on November 1, 2008 at the Lakewood Forest Preserve in Lake County IL. Lake County has a wonderful forest preserve system that offers many recreational opportunities for folks. All of the preserves are kept in wonderful shape with park like settings mixed in with wilderness. One of our favorite preserves is the Lakewood Forest Preserve.

On this trip to Lakewood we were primarily photographing the beautiful fall colors found there. While walking along one of the lakes though, I heard Lynne yell “Incoming”. I looked up, saw the geese, grabbed my camera and was able to fire off four shots of them as they came in for a landing. Of the four, this is the only one that came out decent.

This image is the only action animal photograph I have. In a way I know I was lucky to get it, but I also know that if my camera hadn’t been hanging from my neck, ready to go at the time, there’s no way I could of got it. Like a good Boyscout, the nature photographer must always be prepared.

For more info on the Lake County IL Forest Preserves, check out their website at www.lcfpd.org.

————————————–

It stayed on that bush for a good 5-10 minutes, flying from flower to flower, settling on one for a few seconds, and then flying to the next. All the while I was moving with it getting many great images with it’s wings closed and open.

Getting good images of butterflies can be quite a challenge. I’m not content with just shooting closeups of the butterfly, I like to compose an image that shows it in it’s natural surrounding living it’s life. That sometime requires quick thinking and visualizing in order to get good compositions.

I’m really happy with how this image came out.

Purchase Prints or Usage Rights

May’s photo of the month was taken on the 5th of May, 2009 in Custer State Park, South Dakota. While we had seen hundreds of pronghorn in small groups as we drove through Wyoming and South Dakota, this one was strangely by itself along a creek in Custer State Park.

As the pronghorn came to the creek and began wading across it, I shot a series of images through an open window while inside the truck, knowing that if I opened a door the animal would bail on me. These are such flighty creatures that even the smallest noise sets them off at a full run.

This is my favorite shot of the series. To me it gives a sense of anticipation as the pronghorn pauses to make sure the coast is clear before entering the water.

]]> http://sbdigitalarts.com/photo-of-the-month-may-2010/feed/ 0 http://sbdigitalarts.com/big-horn-sheep-portrait/ http://sbdigitalarts.com/big-horn-sheep-portrait/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:20:56 +0000 Steven http://sbdigitalarts.com/?p=255 This last spring my wife Lynne and I took a cross country road trip from our home in Wisconsin to my last home in California. On the way back we stopped for a couple days in South Dakota. Our first full day there was spent visiting Mt Rushmore and Custer State Park.

Custer State Park is an amazing place. The wildlife there are very unafraid of people. Bison roam in front of cabins and block traffic along the road. Pronghorn stand within feet of the main roads. And then there were the six Big Horn Sheep camped out on the front lawn of the lodge. This guy was one of the six, he stood there posing for me while took pictures from the truck.

Luckily he was standing where I could get a good shot of him without getting the parking lot behind him in the frame. It’s quite a thrill to be that close to a wild animal and have him not be afraid of you.

Technical Details:
Canon Digital Rebel XTI
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100
f/5.6 @ 1/500 sec.
Hand held with Image Stabilization turned on.

There are from 4900-5300 White-naped Cranes in the world and their population is declining.

This White-naped Crane was photographed in Baraboo WI of all places. It lives at the International Crane Foundation with it’s mate. They are one of the breeding pairs at the ICF.

The ICF works world wide to conserve cranes and the grasslands and wetlands they depend on. They are also a leader in captive breading of cranes and work to re-release the birds back into the wild.

We visited the ICF recently and captured some great images of these magnificent birds. This is the only place in the world where you can see all 15 crane species at one time.

This image was taken with my Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. I had to shoot through a fence to get the shot. By standing close to the fence and shooting with a large aperture, I was able to make the wires of the fence disappear.