Tiger Shoot - My Grand Failure

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Went to the Tiger Shoot today put on by cover shot specialist Tom Hicks, Trey and the folks at Pug Mug. They were kind enough to indulge me in one of my ideas...

Theory: Mount a camera high up in a tree, hang a raw steak by a string and try and capture the tiger leaping for the steak (without getting the steak in the shot). Also, get secondary shots of the tiger from ground level.

Reality: Did you know tigers can climb trees? I didn't.

I took a D200 with a 28mm f/2.0 AIS lens. Put the camera on shutter priority, ISO 400, focus on manual and mounted it on a branch 15 feet up using a super clamp. I was using a Pocket Wizard to fire the camera remotely. We then tied the steak to a rope and hung it over a different branch a bit below where the camera was. The focus was set on the ground just in front of the tree but with no part of the tree in the shot.


THE GOOD: The tiger put on an amazing display of power in her repeated jumps to get the steak giving all photographers in attendance some great action to shoot. On 3 or 4 occasions, Sheba actually started climbing the tree:
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...399#post223399


THE BAD: Sheba didn't jump up to get the steak but instead used the tree as a starting point to go after it. Since I didn't have the tree in the shot, I got no jumping shots from the tree.


THE UGLY:

If you were there you know what a boring shot this is.

DISCLAIMER: The people at Pug Mug made sure the tiger was in no danger and they only dangled the meat for a few minutes before letting Sheba go at it:


So my failures were the success of others. It was all in good spirit and once we realized my mistake we had a good time with it (Trey maybe a little too much... (grin)).

Thanks again to the great Tom Hicks and Trey Neal for their continued support of these grand animals. It was a very fun shoot this morning and I encourage anyone who hasn't been there to check it out.

_/oe

[Daniel Bates]

I LOVE that #2 shot though. Maybe not as exciting as you'd hoped, but it's a great capture anyway.

[Roy]

It's a good idea Joe. I never would of thought of that.

[engstrom]

Originally Posted by Joe_Lorenzini

Reality: Did you know tigers can climb trees? I didn't.

Well duh, of course they can! Oh, and if the next time you're there you get the idea to put a raw chicken on a raft by their pool let me warn you - tigers can swim too!

Just teasing - I'm sorry it didn't work out as you hoped but it's nice to see you trying new things. Keep up the good work.

[AndrewCCM]

Man.. when I first started reading this.. I was like uh oh.. the tiger ate the camera!!! That would have been cool as long as you could continue to fire off the shutter and "somehow retreive the CF card" LOL!!

Well.. maybe not "cool". But interesting and expensive!

Great ideas there Joe...Sorry it didn't work out better for ya...

[Wes]

Actually, I like the #2 shot. Of all of the tiger photos that have been posted on this board there have been no others from this perspective. Your title of the shot could imply that the tiger had you treed.

[laurielblack]

Joe, I love that shot of her from the tree! You might consider it boring but it really is cool and unique. :)

[Huck]

your "ugly" shot isnt bad - its an intereting look from above. I for one, Like it.

[jeffkohn]

Well, it was a good idea even if you didn't get the exact shot you wanted. The second shot is a unique perspective. Also love your IR shots in the other thread.

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Thanks all. While it's unique it's still fairly boring but I appreciate the support. Next time...

If you want a chuckle, this is more than I got in 95% of the shots (look at bottom rightish) :

[Jay Henley]

Originally Posted by laurielblack

Joe, I love that shot of her from the tree! You might consider it boring but it really is cool and unique. :)

I have to agree with Laurie. I think the first shot is tuff. The full body from the top with the body at an angle and the rare viewpoint from above. That is nice.

[smoothassilk]

I know it's not what you wanted, but i like the second shot.

[ShaneKislack]

I'll add that I too love shot #2. I've seen the threads about the tiger shoots...and while I totally support the sanctuary...I was thinking "man, how could you possibly shoot those tigers that hasn't been shot a million times before?" Well, you answered my question.

[babybluetx23]

Originally Posted by AndrewCCM

Man.. when I first started reading this.. I was like uh oh.. the tiger ate the camera!!! That would have been cool as long as you could continue to fire off the shutter and "somehow retreive the CF card" LOL!!

Well.. maybe not "cool". But interesting and expensive!

Great ideas there Joe...Sorry it didn't work out better for ya...

That was MY Thought! I really thought I was going to read that they ate your camera! hehehehe
That was a GREAT idea! Way to go for thinking outside the box! Gotta give ya props on that!

[Trey Neal]

Well Joe, you definitely brought a great deal of excitement to the shoot even though it didn't quite work like you planned. I think the next time you give this a shot you will have much more success. I'm glad you tried something new - it was great fun.