Big Cat Rescue - Tampa, FL

[minatophase3]

I was in Tampa over the weekend and was fortunate enough to schedule a photo tour at the Big Cat Rescue park. The tours cost $50 per hour and are definately worth it if you want to get close to some big cats, plus all of the money goes towards running the non-profit facility.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots:

Picture 1
http://www.nationphotography.com/images/clients/big_cats/images/big_cats15.jpg

Picture 2
http://www.nationphotography.com/images/clients/big_cats/images/big_cats01.jpg

Picture 3
http://www.nationphotography.com/images/clients/big_cats/images/big_cats11.jpg

The rest can be seen here: http://www.nationphotography.com/images/clients/big_cats/index.htm

Thanks for looking.

Tim

[AFCop]

These are all really nice, but the tiger behind the bushes is my favorite. Looks like it might be the last thing one would see while walking through the jungle!:shock:

[John Trogdon]

You have a lot of nice shots. It looks like money well spent. Thanks for sharing.

[mtnbiker1096]

Really nice shots. I really like the first one of the Tiger the best.

[beautifulimpressions]

Great shots of beautiful animals

I'd been thinking of going there myself and I think you've sold me on the idea !

what camera and lenses did you use ? did you use a flash at all ?

[minatophase3]

Great shots of beautiful animals

I'd been thinking of going there myself and I think you've sold me on the idea !

what camera and lenses did you use ? did you use a flash at all ?

I had my Canon 20D and my Sigma 100-300 f4. I also used my 550 flash on some shots as the lighting can be a little dark on some of the cages. Since you cannot get a good shot unless your lens is right on the cage, it is really nice to have a zoom lens. If I would have had a 300mm prime I wouldn't have gotten 75% of my shots as you get pretty darn close.

The 2 hour tour was sufficient for me to get shots of all the cats. I think you will enjoy yourself if you do go.

Tim

[cmM]

wow, great shots
#1 is awesome.... those eyes :shock:

[Mills]

Great shots! Number 1 is remarkable.

[minatophase3]

Thanks for the kind words! I love that first one also, looks really great printed out. I think I am going to try a 16x20 print and see how it looks. That would be a very scary thing to see had there not been a fence between me and him.

By the way that is a 750 pound Siberian/Bengal mix!

Tim

[jukas]

Number 1 is fantastic, thanks for sharing

[nitsch]

I have to agree with the others, no.1 is a truly incredible shot. I bet that print looks fantastic!

[RbrtPtikLeoSeny]

Woah, those are amazing shots! I looked at the rest of them in the link you gave, and those are just as good. Incredible job! Number one is probably one of the best photo's I have ever seen.

[minatophase3]

Woah, those are amazing shots! I looked at the rest of them in the link you gave, and those are just as good. Incredible job! Number one is probably one of the best photo's I have ever seen.

Thank you very much for the compliments!!! I had been thinking about selling my Sigma 100-300 f4, but after this photo shoot I think it will stay in the bag for a while, truly a great versitle lens.

As for the tiger shot, sometimes it doesn't hurt to be lucky :-).

Tim

[Steve Parr]

I paid $21.00 to get into the San Diego Zoo last Saturday. I would've MUCH rather have spent $100.00 in Tampa!

Steve

[cocodel1st]

BEAUTIFUL. I love to go their some time. Great work with the camera.

[wolverinesr1]

i have to go with number 1 also, but they are all great. my daughter lives in fla.maybe i might have to visit sooner than i thought.

[Surefire_Spanky_Light]

Great Shots! My Sister-in-law lives in Tampa. We plan on going down this year, so I know where I will be going :D

[ed2150]

Oh, yeah! The tiger pic's great! Looks like he means business!

[sparker1]

Beautiful shots. Some people criticize the use of flash in animal pictures, but I do not find the animals even notice the flash. The flash really makes a critical difference in many cases, and produces a nice catchlight in the animal's eyes. I would never want to disturb the animals, but I'm convinced they aren't bothered by it unless it's too close.

[minatophase3]

Beautiful shots. Some people criticize the use of flash in animal pictures, but I do not find the animals even notice the flash. The flash really makes a critical difference in many cases, and produces a nice catchlight in the animal's eyes. I would never want to disturb the animals, but I'm convinced they aren't bothered by it unless it's too close.

I did ask my tour guide if it was OK to use flash and she said it was as these cats are used to having their pictures taken. Might be a different story if these animals were in the wild, but then I don't think I would want to be close enough for a flash to be effective :-).