Karl Batchelor's photostream  

Remember walking around in the depth of our winter early in the morning wishing I had a better pair of gloves. My tripod was making my hand so cold but I felt very alive and when I came across this frozen grass I knew that there was a lovely shot to be taken.

Weather today is misty and overcast...a spot of sunshine always cheers my soul.

The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a leopard subspecies native to the southwestern Primorye region of Russia, and is, as of 15 February 2012, classed as Critically Endangered.[2]

The Amur leopard is also known as the Far Eastern leopard, Korean leopard, and Manchurian leopard.

A captive population of Amur leopards was established in 1961 from nine wild-born founders. A molecular genetic survey revealed that at least two founders of the captive pedigree have genetic information more consistent with Panthera pardus japonensis than any wildborn specimens of P. p. orientalis. This observation lends support to a history of genetic admixture between Amur leopards and North Chinese leopards in the captive pedigree.[14] The zoo population in both the American and European regions includes a considerable contribution of genes from Founder 2, who was not an Amur leopard. European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) strategy has been to manage breeding so as to minimize his contribution as far as possible while still maintaining acceptable overall levels of genetic diversity. All leopards with more than 41% Founder 2 have been excluded from breeding since 1999. This policy has resulted in an overall decrease in the prevalence of Founder 2 genes and an increase in the number of leopards with low percentage of them.[12]

As of December 2011, there are 176 captive Amur leopards in zoos worldwide. Within the EEP 54 male, 40 female and 7 unsexed individuals are kept. In North American and Canadian zoos another 31 males and 41 females are kept within the Population Management Program.[15]

info from Wikipedia

Struggling today...have too much to do and feel a little snowed under....thought looking and sharing this might clear the fog a bit.

It has been said, by more than one excellent photographer that having a distinctive style and keeping your images confined to a region of photography, ie fashion,nature etc will help get you noticed more on Flickr and taken more seriuosly as an Artist. My problem is that I like so many styles and wish to try them all. I suppose as I am not paid and under no illussions as to my current status, I feel lucky enough to be free from those issues. Hence a black and white image that came out of my head....
I sometimes ask myself where this is all heading. Do I want to stay taking and making images for Flickr forever? Simple answer is I will probably never settle to one style. Will this mean that I never become rich or Famous for my photography..........LOL. probably. Take this image for what it is...a bit of fun. I do.

Also find me Karl_Batchelor on 500px