What’s wrong with this picture?

Under most circumstances, I would be happy with this picture. But when compared to the image on the next page, this one falls short. There are a few reasons for this.

First, the Canada lynx kitten is looking down. Because of the angle of the head, there is a shadow covering the top third of each eye caused from the protruding brow.

Second, the expression on the kitten seems dull when compared to the picture on the next page. His face isn’t alert, engaged, or locked on something of great interest.

The photo above shows the lynx kitten fully alert, and his attention is riveted on something. In addition, the head is looking out -- i.e. straight ahead -- instead of downward, thus the eyes are fully illuminated.

I would have preferred to include both paws completely, as I did in the shot on the previous page, but the cat leaned to our right and I moved the camera to follow that movement. Still I much prefer the expression and the alertness I captured in this photo.

In both pictures, the background is perfectly out of focus. None of the vegetation is defined, which means all the attention stays on the kitten’s face. My settings were 1/1000, f/6.3, and 2000 ISO, and I took this with a 100-400mm Canon zoom at one of my wildlife workshops in Montana. §