Tigers - A Living Example of "Awe"
Tigers - A Living Example of "Awe"
A Living Example of Awe
One of the earliest meanings of the word, "awe' dates back to the 1300s, where the word meant "fear, terror or great reverence." When walking next to a tiger, its hard not to feel “awe” at the size and power of this magnificent beast. While I have never experienced one in the wild (and hopefully never will), I had an opportunity to shoot at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and was able to spend a little time with Hector, one of the zoos male amur tigers. When you can experience one of these creatures moving within 6 feet of you, one immediately recognizes what a mouse feels like when nervously staring at a housecat. For all our technological superiority and modern lifestyle, there is no better living, breathing and walking example of the word "awe."
Silent Predators
I was struck by how quiet he was. Tigers are the largest cat species in the world (3.3 meters long) and weigh over 650 lbs, however, Hector was almost silent up close. His camouflaging, that orange, white and black stripping, actually hid him really well in this environment. The dark stripping mimics high contrast environments and when standing against the trees, Hector became a shadow, blending into the high contrast scenes of the park. If you scan quickly for a tiger, they are almost invisible, even in the snow. If they are in the water (tigers love to swim and are actually quite good at it) then the contrasty patterns works even better.
Inspiration from Wildlife
He clearly wasn't stalking the perimeter of the cage, but Tigers "ambush hunters," since they lie in wait and slowly creep towards their prey until they are close enough to pounce. With a cat this large and fast, there really isn't time for escape.
These solitary cats live anywhere from 20-26 years in the wild and even though they are solitary, cubs learn to hunt with their mothers, up until around 2 years old. At that point they are out on their own.
While both beautiful and fierce, it is hard not to experience awe when walking next to something so large and powerful. His beautiful coat, the standout colors of his camouflage and intense gaze make for an unforgettable experience.
Finding Creativity in the Winter
While it is pretty easy to get bored shooting in the winter, there is no other time when the light creates a strong blue/orange color scheme. In the darker shadows, the snow takes on a distinct blue color that is a perfect contrast for the bright orange coloring of snow in direct sunlight. This is a color palate not apparent elsewhere.
Additionally, with all that snow bouncing sunlight everywhere a photographer can achieve shutter speeds that are unattainable at any other time. Most times, you could be shooting in excess of 1/8000’s of a second. When shooting moving objects through a foreground element, sometimes manual focus is needed which can make it more challenging.