Nature's fastest mammal - the cheetah

I have mixed feelings about zoos, but I think that, in general, they are onto something.  Many places are now keeping animals for one of three reasons.  The animals are injured or rescued and cannot be returned to the wild, the animals are at risk and they are running a breeding program to repopulate the group, or the animals are neither injured or at risk but add significantly to the zoo's ability to keep the doors open to help those that are.

It is a far cry from the old days when we caught anything that could turn a buck simply by encasing it in a glass cubicle.  As a rule of thumb, I believe in leaving wild things wild.  I have delivered a number of injured birds to rescue facilities that were strictly interested in returning a healthy bird to the environment.  Admittedly, it is not an easy thing to rescue a creature that is injured; they don't want to be caught and there is a risk to them and us if we are successful.  But, I believe it is the right thing to do.

When photographing captive wildlife, a pair of terms in this case that is a bit of an oxymoron, I like to shoot so there is no hint of human involvement.  I try not to shoot through glass or wire, I make sure that there is no evidence of construction present, and I like to capture some behavioural element, if possible.  Often it is just the luck of the draw, sometimes you get a good shot and other times you don't.  The trick is to go early, go often, and make a point to photograph particular individuals.

Over the years I have managed to get very good photos of numerous species; the cheetah was photographed while we were recently in Palm Springs.  This is the best shot of a cheetah I have ever captured.  It would be nice to photograph them in the wild, but that is something that I will probably never do.  This happens to be the next best thing.

The other interesting thing about this photo is that it was taken with a recently purchased D7100 and 55-300mm zoom.  The combination is not what I usually use when shooting, but I was pleased to see that the pair worked very well together.  Although I like high-end equipment, you can often obtain good photos with less expensive stuff.  You don't need to empty the bank account just to take good photos.  

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com