Exotic Feline Rescue Center

DarkRock

We took a small road trip to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. Here's one of the shots from the visit yesterday.

puzzledpaul

I've (obviously) no idea of what the specific environment is like at this place, but in the (distant) past, when taking pics of captive subjects, I've tried to lose as much as possible of the signs of captivity in the pics.

If this wasn't possible for full subject pics, then trying for head shots / interesting details / textures etc was another possible avenue I tried exploring.

Again, I have no idea if practical, but gear (focal length) and distance / position allowing, I wonder if a (lower pov) head shot would've been a better choice - and cropped out any rubbish background + maybe waited for a different pose / look?

pp

DarkRock

All of the occupants are in enclosures for their protection as well as the staff and visitors. The enclosures areas are large and allow stimulation and the ability for the animals to move around and interact with each other in certain situations. All of these animals are rescued from unsatisfactory conditions. The challenge (for me) on shooting the occupants was to shoot through the fence opening where possible. I had a lot of shots where the specific cat was too close to the boundary fence so I was forced to shoot the fence as well. I shot with the 5DmIII and was using my 70-300mm exclusively for this shoot. I did crop a number of shots for head shots which you can see at my website either in the wildlife area or the recent additions.

Thanks for the feedback and I appreciate your recommendations.

-Tim

Tony Britton

Beautiful animal. Nice color & clarity in this photograph. I enjoyed browsing your website, as well.

Take care,

Tony

pathfinder

Welcome to a fellow Hoosier!!

I've photographed at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_Feline_Rescue_Center ) a few times, and always enjoy seeing the cats. Some of the tigers are really quite large, up to 650 pounds.

When we were there we were told that they distribute ~3000 pounds of meat a day to their cats. One and a half tons of meat is a lot of meat to cut up and distribute every day, 365 days a year, at feeding time. And we were also told that 1/4th of all the large cats in the United States are in the EFRC.

As DarkRock described, the enclosures are 2 inch chain link fence about 14-15 feet tall with electrified wires at the top of the fencing. It makes it challenging to avoid the chain link fence in front of the cats and behind the cats. There is no provision for photographing over the top of the fencing.

I wanted to go back last winter after a nice snowy day, but that was not meant to be. Maybe next year. I think a good snow fall would make for some really interesting images.

The tigers are big - https://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Shooting-with-Brendan-March/i-PfbZRnm/0/XL/big%20tiger%203%202009%20-0131-XL.jpg


https://youtu.be/47n1AFdr2oQ

pathfinder

puzzledpaul wrote: »

I've (obviously) no idea of what the specific environment is like at this place, but in the (distant) past, when taking pics of captive subjects, I've tried to lose as much as possible of the signs of captivity in the pics.

If this wasn't possible for full subject pics, then trying for head shots / interesting details / textures etc was another possible avenue I tried exploring.

Again, I have no idea if practical, but gear (focal length) and distance / position allowing, I wonder if a (lower pov) head shot would've been a better choice - and cropped out any rubbish background + maybe waited for a different pose / look?

pp

Hi Paul,

I think the chain link fencing makes it pretty challenging, especially with typical DSLR size lenses, which are way too large to shoot through the openings in the fencing. I did some try shooting with a point and shoot to be able to shoot through the openings in the fencing.

I also used a 28-300mm lens for some shots there, as it was smaller and helped approach shooting through the chain links without them in the middle of the frame. You really don't need truly long glass, med range 100-200mm is probably enough, as the compounds are not that large to need 400-500mm.

My current thinking is a m4/3 body with a small, fast mid range prime telephoto - or even the 35-100mm f2.8 Panasonic zoom lens - that will fit within the chain link opening. One has to be VERY careful though - these cats are wild, VERY quick and SILENT, and it you are busy focusing on one cat, another can run across the compound at full speed, and slam into the fencing with all four paws. This can be quite exciting if you are very close to the fencing. DAMHIK. It will make your heart stop for a moment. It will also cover you in wet drippy mud if you are unlucky.

Or a male cat may just decide to wet you down with cat urine from 20 feet away.

This is why you really need an alert 2nd observer when one gets close to the fencing, or it can be very exciting or annoying, or both. And I guarantee you will not hear them coming. It is hard to grasp just how fast and SILENT they can be, unless you have experienced it.

You can't get real low to the ground as there are 2x8 or 2x10 boards along the bottom of the fencing to help keep the chain link in place.

So it can be challenging, but where else can you find 200 large cats in central Indiana?

Indeed, you cannot see this variety of cats in all of Africa. It truly is a magical place.

puzzledpaul

Thanks Tim, Jim for the extra info - reminds me of some places I've visited in the days of film + young kids.

Smaller (diameter) gear + observer sounds like a fair, safe approach, but I doubt I'd personally bother (these days) since, for me, 'magical places' exist in many locations.

Imo, it also comes back to whether one considers the 'subject is king' - or the picture ... as recently mentioned elsewhere.

pp