I don’t manage to go the zoo very often, but when I do, I tend to spent a lot of time with the cheetahs. There is something about cheetahs that I find irresistible, their combination of beauty and power, of strength and speed. In the largest enclosure in the cheetah exhibit area, there are normally three or four male cheetahs and they are the ones that I usually observe.
Last September I did a posting about the cheetahs at the National Zoo and this is an update of sorts. This past weekend I tried to concentrate on taking shots of the cheetahs in action. This was a challenge for a few reasons. It was late afternoon and the light was starting to fade and there were limited angles for the shots and some of the backgrounds were very undesirable.
I did finally manage to get some shots that I like, although I have trouble deciding which one is my favorite—I like each of them for slightly different reasons.
I’ll let you decide for yourself which one you like most.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
The shot of him running is probably pefect for an animal that spends a large part of its time doing so, but I like the second one.
Thanks for your input. I was so thrilled when he climbed onto that tree, although I wish the background were a little less cluttered. I like the running shot (the third one), in which I had to pan the camera a little to follow him, though I wish I had managed to get the focus a little sharper–it looks like the middle of the body is the sharpest area. As I noted in the post, there are pluses and minuses to each photo. which leaves plenty of room for improvement.
Nice shots !
The panning shot is perfect !
utham
Love them all. I don’t really like the idea of animals cooped up in confined spaces, but some zoos have made the extra effort to make the surroundings look natural, and that’s perfect for us photographers.