Formerly known as the Siberian Tiger, the Amur Tiger is one of the biggest and rarest of the big cats. Unlike most other cats, tigers love the water, and are excellent swimmers. I picked this shot for the month because it was taken in a nearby zoo. More than once I have been approached by people who are going on their first photo safari and who want advice for getting memorable shots of the animals they see. My advice is always the same...go to the zoo and practice there. Learn what angles and composition work in that very controlled environment and use what you learn when you go out into the "real world" environment so that you will be ready for it. It is a great way to learn not only that, but to learn how the individual animals move physically and what they look like from different angles. In the wild, you often don't get to choose these things, and have to be able to work with whatever you are presented with. In addition, zoos can be challenging because they are often not lit with photography in mind, and there are visual hindrances like dirty glass partitions and fences that you need to compensate and adjust for, as well as awkward angles to deal with. That too is good preparation for shooting in the wild as you will run across similar situations in natural environments. Not fences or glass partitions usually, but rain, fog, trees and branches, and even other photographers and vehicles if you are on a photo safari. You have to be adaptable, as even though you will be safe and have a guide, you are ultimately a guest in the animals' home. You have to remain polite. :) The other thing to keep in mind is that zoos allow you to get much closer to animals than you should ever get in the wild. So practice from a distance similar to that which you will be seeing the animals in their natural habitats. This tiger portrait was taken from a distance of about 5 feet...a totally unrealistic distance in the wild, but it made such a fine portrait I couldn't resist.
