Endangered Beauty by Stephen Oachs

Thursday, 13th November 2008

Endangered Beauty

by Stephen Oachs

The incredibly beautiful snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is indigenous to the mountains of Central Asia. Their dense coats and snowshoe-like paws are ideally suited for their cold, dry, rocky native environment. These shy, elusive cats, when fully grown, weigh up to 120 pounds and nose to tip of their very thick, furry tails measure up to 7-1/2 feet long. Sadly, these phenomenal cats are an endangered species.
This photograph was taken on a private reserve in Kalispell, Montana.
The black and white palette adds depth and drama to this cat’s intense posture, mesmerizing eyes, and her exquisite spotted coat.

Equipment: Canon 1D Mark III

Stephen Oachs

Stephen W. Oachs is a successful entrepreneur, technology veteran and award-winning photographer. He began his journey in photography the moment he picked up his first SLR camera. Ever since, his lenses have focused on the inspiring majesty of mother earth and the unflinching beauty of the animal kingdom.
Whether trekking through the wilds of Alaska, enduring the raw challenges of nature or experiencing the thrill of life on the edge, Stephen captures rare and breathtaking moments of light and time. His exceptional eye is filtered only by his passion for life, deep affinity with nature and love of adventure.

www.stephenoachs.com

32 Comments

ziggy Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Intense yes and beautiful, caught in midstride suddenly aware od being seen. Great catch. Thanks for sharing her story, too. I do wonder though if the intensity of her eyes might have been stronger in colour? Just a thought.
janet Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 5:03 am
I absolutely love this photo.
Katherine Lee Strassburg Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Wonderful effect. The b&w format together with the shallow depth of field lend a dream-like quality. It’s as if the eyes and face confront the viewer suddenly out of a mist, blending seamlessly into the background. This is a real metaphor for this magnificent animal, perhaps fading into the nothingness of extinction even as we watch.
Anurag Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 7:18 am
great photo with a wonderful expression on the tiger’s face.
You seem to have a winner here for that natgeo contest.
Saravanan Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Lovely photo and great expression captured. A winner anytime !
Su Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Stunning, a truly beautiful POTD. Congrats
Stephen Oachs Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Yes, Anurag…this photo is a finalist in the National Geographic Photo contest. I’d really appreciate everyone’s vote!

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/voting-machine?category=3

Thank you everyone for your kind words.

Stephen Oachs
Thomas Vignaud Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Wonderfull position and expression
Malta Photography Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Great shot Stephen even with the pose of the feline, it looks curious, alone but at the same time in control and aware. The b/w is perfect and all lighting in the image is exactly where it should be. Great just perfect.
Keith C Towers Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:35 am
A lovely capture indeed and I like the use of mono which draws our attention to the reality of the wild. It would be so easy to get excited over a nice cutsy colour shot. These beasts are so beautiful and perfectly built for their environment, and yet, ironically, their only enemy is man. I say ironically because it is also man that works hard to save these and other creatures from possible extinction. That says a lot about us doesn’t it?
Pauline Jones Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Its nice to know that someone cares enough about this species to keep it on his private reserve. I’m sure the cat doesn’t know the difference. I looked at your website, it’s one for the favorites.
Cliff Young Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Absolutely fabulous shot – I envy you having the opportunity to photograph such a magnificent animal.
Tom Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Beautiful animal, excellent photograph
waseem Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am
stunning…absolutely stunning !!!
maher Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Breathtaking…woouft…
KT Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Geez that is nice.
planet lover Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Gorgeous animal! It’s inspiring to know that we’re sharing this planet with such mangnificent creatures. Thanks for this great picture.
Zookeeper Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Wow, what a gorgeous, stunning photo! The B&W sets it off perfectly, combining with short field to immediately draw your eyes to her face — with her eyes staring intently right back at you. And with the movement captured perfectly, too, it makes you wonder who’s stalking whom?
Natalie Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Beautiful Picture
Renee Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I have to agree with the comments on this one what a beautiful, stunning animal and you have captured it wonderfully!
Hanna Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
The black and white setting is perfect, it adds character to the leopard, in a way. It’s really beautiful!
Hanna Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Oh, BTW, I just discovered this site and I’m already in LOVE with all these wonderful pictures! It’s an amazing idea, putting up a site like this. Is there a button somewhere so you can get a random picture? I want to keep looking!
Marie Dunphy Harding Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Thank you for this fabulous picture of this marvelous animal. This is surely one of my favorites.
b/w works beautifully for this shot.
James and Kelly Stone Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Stephen, great shot. We had the awesome opportunity to see this and all your photos live at the local Faire. We are so happy for the success that you are having in all these contests. Congrats on yet another well deserved POTD contest win. We are pulling for you on the National Geo win too!!! People go to the site and vote “10″ for this!!!!
Anurag Says:
November 14th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Hanna,
Yes, there is a button for a random shot on the archives page. Alternatively you can click

http://www.earthshots.org/?random
K Fields Says:
November 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Beautiful animal. As pretty as the Wild Lynx in Alaska!
Thank-you for sharing!
~K
Hanna Says:
November 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Thank you! I will use that.
Sue Gagnon Says:
November 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
INTENSE AND VERY WELL CAPTURED PHOTOGRAPH of an intense and endangered animal we should all be in AWE of on a daily basis. This is VERY impressive and best in black and white. Thanks to all information provided above from Anurag and the Stone family Keith, you said it best, man IS their only enemy, and we MUST FIX THIS ERROR OF HUMANITY before losing them ALL! STEPHEN EXCELLENT WORK!!! Take a BOW.
mike Says:
September 28th, 2009 at 2:35 am
What a beautiful animal.
Su Says:
November 13th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Such a marvelous shot and a true winner.
Rajib Singha Says:
November 13th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Excellent selection of black and white. Congrats!
Renee Says:
November 13th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I just love this shot!