Tiger Eyes

Tiger Eyes

Image of the Week

Tiger Eyes

Tigers have always been special to me. There has always been something about them that I simply love. Tiger eyes have a focus almost unlike any other animal. When tiger eyes are locked onto something, they seem to have the focus of animal lasers. This was taken at the Oakland Zoo. Although not the biggest or best known zoo around, they have a nice enclosure for their tigers, and in recent years, have been making huge improvements all around. I highly recommend it as a place to enjoy some time with the animals. Take some time with the tigers, and find out what you see in their tiger eyes.

Image Considerations

Zoo photography can be just about as challenging as photographing animals in the wild. The only read advantage there is with zoo photography is I know where the animals are supposed to be. There are no more guarantees of getting a good photo then being in the wild, so just like in the wild, zoo photography requires lots off patience. You have to be willing to watch and wait for a behavior, a look, a something worth photographing. Tigers can have very fast movements. If you are not watching them through your lens, you will likely miss shots.

I took this photo from an elevated viewing area, which is not optimal for image angles, but gave a wide view of the enclosure. The challenge was finding angles where a tiger could be that would make for an interesting image. You can find the angles being patient and watching for periods of time. The animals usually have some patterns in their enclosures, you just have to spot them.

Image Lighting

This tiger was laying under a shade structure, which created some challenges on a sunny day. Although the shade structure did not cast any odd shadows, the tiger was in a darker location than the surrounding area. I was able to pay attention to the tiger eyes to get a shot I liked thanks to the tiger facing almost directly at me.

Camera and Settings

I shot this with my Canon 1Ds Mark III and Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens. Given the 1Ds MkIII is an older body, it has a maximum ISO of 1,600. This is very low by current standards, but the image quality is still very good even at this maximum ISO. The challenge that it creates at times is not being able to increase the shutter speed. You can only do so much once the lens aperture is wide open. With a 400mm lens and lower shutter speed, stability is critical. This was one of many times I was thankful for my Really Right Stuff monopod and head. The stability it provides allows me to shoot with lower shutter speeds, and still get sharp images. Thanks to the monopod length and MH-02 head, I have lots of flexibility in how to position myself.

Appropriate metering helps with situations like this where I am functionally shooting into shadows on a sunny day. I like to let the camera do the work rather than having to compensate in post processing. I generally have my camera set for partial metering.

  • 400mm
  • f/5.6
  • 1/125th
  • 0 exposure bias
  • ISO 1,600

Editing Inspiration

My first goal was to emphasize the tiger eyes and the focus in them. My next goal was trying to make it not look like it was taken at a zoo. With the steady gaze of the tiger eyes, the first goal was reasonably easy to accomplish. I had a few more challenges with the zoo aspect. The tiger was laying on a cement slab, that was showing above the tiger. Finding the right combination of techniques to remove the cement took some effort. I did this edit in 2016 as I was just getting started with these types of Photoshop techniques. I am still happy with the end result, as it made for a fairly natural appearance. Still being happy with it after a couple years is always a good sign. Often I will find something I want to update when I look back at an image.