Photographers keep best memories of Shaoguan

Ashley Main (L) from the U.K. and other expat photographers take photos of a tiger at the South China Tiger Breeding and Research Base in Shaoguan on May 22, which was the International Day for Biological Diversity.                                                            Lin Jianping

Albeit it rained heavily, expat photographers and vloggers among a group of international volunteers from Shenzhen didn’t hesitate to fix both their eyes and lens on every single movement of the tigers while visiting the South China Tiger Breeding and Research Base in Shaoguan National Forest Park on Sunday.

After the visitors waited for a while on an observation platform at the reserve, Xiaoman, a South China Tiger adult male, finally emerged from the vegetation, stretched itself a bit and started crouching in a photography-friendly location, triggering a rain of shutters from the photographers’ telephoto cameras.

It is worth mentioning that during the trip the visitors even got in close touch with 5-month-old female twin cubs at the “kindergarten” for juvenile tigers. The twins, named respectively Lianhua and Furong, were playing and chasing with each other with joy in front of the cameras.

“I thought I got some very nice photos when the two little tigers were playing,” said Francisco Vergara from Chile who brought his wife, three daughters and a backpack full of photography gear for the trip. “When the adult tiger was resting, it was also a nice chance to take photos. I also have some nice pictures of it.”

Vergara used his Sony A7R4 camera and a 200-600mm lens to shoot the tiger Xiaoman. Photographers could observe the adult tigers only from a distance for the sake of their safety, so using telephoto lens was a must.

Francisco Vergara’s daughter Elisa Vergara Orellana learns to use a telephoto camera to take photos of the tigers Sunday. 

                                                                                                                                                                                              Anton Tsentalovich

Vergara’s daughters Elisa and Agustina also joined their father in taking photos of the South China Tigers.

While most of the photographers were staying under a shelter while taking photos of the adult tigers, Chiranjib Chakraborty from India insisted on waiting in the rain for the best shots of Xiaoman. He explained that he has strong emotions towards this critically endangered species, for the Bengal tigers, an endemic tiger species of India, has been proven to be a subspecies of the South China Tigers.

Chakraborty stated that he will also make a video of his Sunday trip to the reserve and will later post it on his personal social media accounts.

Thomas Edison Harvey, 68, brought his photography gear in a suitcase to the trip, willing to get some fantastic photos of the tigers. “I brought my Nikon Z7ii camera, my 70-200 lens and a 1.4x tele-converter for the trip,” he said.

Harvey enjoyed taking photos of the tigers, having created some nice shots during Saturday’s trip.

“One of my favorite pictures was taken during the COVID test upon our arrival in Shaoguan on Saturday,” he said. “I was able to capture the moment when the nurse put the swab into Francisco’s daughter’s mouth and you can also see the patience in her eyes.”