Wolf Ademeit, born 1954, lives in Duisburg, Germany. The author prefers calling himself a hobbyist, though his professional life has been always closely connected with this field – he owns an advertising agency and a photo studio. Wolf Ademeit first took interest in photography when studying lithographer's craft and it's been his passion since, for more than 30 years now.
It's Ademeit's distinctive approach that makes his works stand out of a long row of ever trendy black and white photography adepts or, speaking of his most known series, animalist masters. Unique of the author is his 'hobbyist' choice to capture expressive portraits of zoo animals. Rather than focusing on wildlife in their naturally beautiful habitats, Ademeit finds charm and personality in the facial expressions of his subjects alone. Call it 'animal portraits', if you wish. More than simply keeping a visual record, the photographer provides an artistic portrayal that is often reserved for human portraiture.
Says the author: "Only a few photographers use the photography of animals in zoos as an art form. I think this is a missed opportunity… With my pictures I would like to move the photography of these animals in the focus of the art photography and show photos which are not only purely documentary."
Ademeit's incredibly artistic collection of images offers a wide range of emotions, capturing every grimace, ferocious roar, tender kiss, and twinkle in the varied creatures' eyes, each caught within a second of the animal's position he sought for. No wonder his highly acclaimed Animals series took 5 years to finish, patience being a part of the author's talent and mastership.
-Vadim Yatsenko
Bruice Collections, Kiew
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae that occurs in North, Southern and East Africa, and a few localities in Iran
It inhabits a variety of mostly arid habitats like dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs. The species is IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable, as it suffered a substantial decline in its historic range in the 20th century due to habitat loss, poaching for the illegal pet trade, and conflict with humans. By 2016, the global cheetah population has been estimated at approximately 7,100 individuals in the wild. Several African countries have taken steps to improve cheetah conservation measures.
The cheetah was formally described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1775 and is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx. Its yellowish tan or rufous to greyish white coat is uniformly covered with nearly 2,000 solid black spots. Its body is slender with a small rounded head, black tear-like streaks on the face, deep chest, long thin legs and long spotted tail. It reaches 70–90 cm (28–35 in) at the shoulder, and weighs 21–72 kg (46–159 lb).
The cheetah breeds throughout the year, and is an induced ovulator. Gestation lasts nearly three months, resulting in a litter of typically three to five, in rare cases up to eight cubs. They are weaned at the age of about six months. After siblings become independent from their mother, they usually stay together for some time. It is active mainly during the day, with hunting its major activity. It is a carnivore and preys mainly upon antelopes. It stalks its prey to within 100–300 m (330–980 ft), charge towards it and kill it by tripping it during the chase and biting its throat to suffocate it to death. Female cheetahs are solitary or live with their offspring in home ranges. Adult males are sociable despite their territoriality, forming groups called coalitions.
African cheetahs may achieve successful hunts only running up to a speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) while hunting due to their exceptional ability to accelerate; but are capable of accelerating up to 112 km/h (70 mph) on short distances of 100 m (330 ft). It is therefore the fastest land animal. Because of its prowess at hunting, the cheetah has been tamed already in the 16th century BC in Egypt and used to kill game at hunts. It has been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising and animation.
Source: Wikipedia
So elegant and impressive, for me the most beautiful big cat...
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180503-00653-young_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
150926-01492-dont_look_back Wolf Ademeit
110730-01081-I_have_a_dream Wolf Ademeit
110226-00577-observer_3 Wolf Ademeit
110226-00135-power_and_elegance Wolf Ademeit
100724-06308-stammbaum_2 Wolf Ademeit
100724-06282-stammbaum Wolf Ademeit
100724-06250-walking_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
100724-06225-walking_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
091121-00234-cheetah_cubs Wolf Ademeit
090830-00767-cheetah_7 Wolf Ademeit
090830-00715-cheetah_6 Wolf Ademeit
090830-00710-cheetah_5 Wolf Ademeit
090830-00710-cheetah_5-2 Wolf Ademeit
090830-00704-cheetah_portrait Wolf Ademeit
090830-00656-observer_2 Wolf Ademeit
090314-08243-little_fighters Wolf Ademeit
090314-08240-the_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
090314-08013-idyll Wolf Ademeit
090314-07979-cheetah_3 Wolf Ademeit
090314-07943-three_cubs Wolf Ademeit
090314-07936-cute_cheetahs Wolf Ademeit
081106-00427-sitting_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
081106-00409-tension Wolf Ademeit
081106-00372-observer Wolf Ademeit
081106-00226-cheetah_8 Wolf Ademeit
081106-00132-perfect_posing Wolf Ademeit
081004-00496-s Wolf Ademeit
080419-11856-standing_cheetah Wolf Ademeit
080419-11837-cheetah_1 Wolf Ademeit
080419-11822-balance Wolf Ademeit
080419-11795-hunting_cheetah_1 Wolf Ademeit