Cheetahs Running

In my previous photos of running cheetahs, I used a fast shutter to freeze the action and limit motion blur. Here's Bob in 2023, shot using a shutter speed of 1/2000s. The focus is good, there's no blurring, and we can even see his claws.

In the summer of 2024, I tried for a sense of movement and speed by using a slower shutter, panning with the cheetah, and zooming in further. On June 4, I started with a shutter speed of 1/125s for Dave and Adrienne. I suspected that would be too slow, but it was an experiment and I forged ahead. The shots of Dave were forgettable, with lots of blurry fur and too much distance thanks to only 92mm of zoom.

For Adrienne, I kept the shutter at 1/125 but zoomed to 220mm. Most shots were like this one, with too much blurry cat:

The next frame was a winner. The background and grass have streaks of speed, and her feet and tail are a little blurry with motion, but her head is pretty sharp. All four feet are off the ground and she's looking intently at the lure.

What would happen if I increased a shutter speed to 1/180s? Here's Adrienne again, a week later:

In July, I used a 1/350s shutter to capture this unknown cheetah:

Later in July, two more, also at 1/350s. I again failed to record the names so I could give them proper credit.

Minnesota Zoo

The Minnesota Zoo has a large building that hosts the Tropics Trail. There are enclosures for specific species, a pond with a gibbon island, an aquarium, and a walk-through aviary.

African dwarf crocodile

Maylayan tapir

 

American avocet

metallic starling

My video of this duck turned out badly, but I kept it because of the LOUD gibbon:

There are at least two white-cheeked gibbons. Males are black and females are white:

The aquarium can be viewed from above, and there is a fish that seems to have some personality. (I readily anthropomorphize animals, especially if I know their names.) I often saw it swimming quickly back an forth, even breaking the surface.

August 2023

 

It sometimes made a little splash, and look at those buck teeth! And bulging eyes! How can you not like this fish? Are you heartless? Burt is my favorite reptile, and this is my favorite fish. It was also a mystery fish because I couldn't identify its species.

Last December, I was standing at the top of the tank next to a family (of people). The dad said, "There goes Scooter!" This was exciting to me, because [see above]. I turned and asked if that's its name, and a daughter replied that's just what they call it. "It's a good name," I said.

Scooter, also August 2023

I wasn't sure what Scooter looked like other than from above because it's difficult to see the surface from the underwater viewing area. One way I identify animals is through Google's image search, but my overhead shots didn't work. In December, I got a side-on picture.

Scooter, December 2024

Google told me Scooter is a yellowmargin triggerfish. I'm sad that I no longer have a mystery fish but happy that I have a name, even if it's unofficial.

There's no Business Like Snow Monkey Business

I visited the Minnesota Zoo in December and found snow monkeys up to snow monkey business. They eat snow on the move:

 They sit in the snow:

Note snowball

They make snowballs:

They lift the flap, rather than push through, to go inside