At the end of my Brazil tour in early August, we were in the northern Pantanal, which is basically the jaguar capital of the world. We found this younger cat, which had just been separated from its mother the day before following an attack from an adult male. It was hanging out on its own, hiding in the shade of some bushes along the shoreline. Our view wasn’t great, even as it occasionally made half-hearted attempts to hunt birds. At some point though, it got bored, or just uncomfortable, and moved to a different resting spot… right at the base of a riverside tree bathed in afternoon sunlight. That, combined with light reflecting off the surface of the water below, lit the cat up, giving us a nice opportunity to capture some lovely portraits. I warned my clients that it might be the best jaguar shoot of the trip… and I think I was right.
Canon R5
Canon 100-500
ISO 1250
1/250th
f/7.1
(Lying on my back on a boat. )
Thanks, Linda. I do have good news though… a short while after we got these shots, he spotted another jaguar in the distance. It was mom, and they had a happy reunion!
Your 2022 top photos are outstanding. I really enjoy the narratives about each. Just awesome.
(I also appreciate that you have included your selections of the top works of your peers.) Thank you.
Jim, thanks for taking time to look through the whole series!
I’ve been happy to get NPN’s @David_Kingham as a contributor to the Peers list these last couple years. His “Best Of” collection this year is outstanding.
Congratulations Max on this stunning portrait, I just love the setting, bokeh and that pensive gaze !
I may reduce the yellows slightly, especially on the bark and selectively burn the bark.
PS. Will surely look into your collection of 2022 favorites.
A beautiful portrait. The animal seems to stare at me personally.
I also like the shadow and light spots on the animal and the tree base, that show why the jaguar has this pattern in its fur.
)