Cheetah Eye

[Ptinid]

Hi. First posting here, so I'll be interested in your comments.

This is a close-up of a cheetah eye. The pic is one of a sequence I took, trying to get it right. Nikon D40; Tamrom AF70-300 lens. Lens on manual focus (this was very tricky to get close to right). I had the camera on aperture priority at f5.6, but the ISO setting at 400.

The biggest problem is depth of field I think, but the aperture setting left me with 1/30 sec exposure which, given this was hand held was as low as I could go. Animal was moving about, so I couldn't use a tripod.

[Visions]

I am surprised that you have had no responses to your photo. I trust you have not been put off from posting in the future.
It is very difficult to write anything positive about your "eye" shot which is why you may not have had any comments. You are very brave to have been so close to the animal in the first place! I hope you were on the other side of a cage!
Next time you attempt to take anything like this do use a fast shutter speed to avoid motion blur. Also consider that emotion is not conveyed by one eye alone so it would be better to include a little more of the animal. If the animal is moving you need to move the camera to follow it at exactly the same speed. Not easy! Good luck.

[ImgPro]

I agree with Visions comments. Since nothing is in focus or sharp depth of field is not your problem. For a moving subject I'd trust your Nikon to set the focus for you. Next time crank up your ISO as your camera produces images with very little noise. This will allow you to take the shot at a faster shutter speed which should help. Lastly there are blown out areas in your shot caused by overexposure. Watch your histograms and crank in some exposure compensation when necessary, about -1.5 in this case would have helped. Shooting in bright sunlight can often produce pictures with this problem. When possible wait for your subject to be in the shade. You'll get better results. Keep shooting and learning. Best of luck.

Craig