There’s a lot of discussion about whether taking photos of wildlife in zoos is ethical, or even qualifies as “wildlife” at all, for that matter. I don’t get into that debate, because as a learning photographer, as are many who read what I write here, I don’t have the luxury of buying a bunch of long-zoom gear to take shots of wildlife in the wild. (Although my birds are all in the wild…) The Akron Zoo weighed in on this over the last few years, by having a photo contest for photos taken of their animals.
This shot is my entry (one of a couple, probably) into that contest. Tough shot, not because the “captive” subject was all that elusive, but because the subject was separated from the lens by a piece of glass. Add to that the fact that I was using a zoom lens (didn’t want to get caught unprepared with a distant subject and not enough reach) so I was far enough away that the reflections were visible. Had to move around a good bit to make ’em go away.
The bare details–Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS lens at 70mm with the IS on. ISO 500, f/4.0 at 1/100 sec. No flash, obviously, not just because of the reflection off the glass but because it would have spooked the crap out of this beautiful jaguar. (By the way, there’s no I in jaguar.
Always an Amateur 