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Hi all.
I'm a bit of a rookie when it comes to shooting at zoos but I tried my luck at Australia Zoo today. I was trying to capture something other than the usual images and would really appreciate your honest opinions of the following. (I'll post some bird shots in another thread)

No cropping, just some sharpening and curve adjustments. All these were shot with the 70-300mm G. (Which I just want to throw against a wall!!!)

Tiger 1 (shot through glass)


Tiger 2 (also through glass)


Asiatic Elephant close-up


Camel close-up

Simon glad to see that you survived I am not a big fan of zoo pictures but these are nice sharp images with a very nice feel to them

Thanks John.

Crikey!!! I just love what you did with the elephant and camel Simon - great shots...
I trust you enjoyed the Australian Zoo... I went there last year and found it very different...

leek wrote:Crikey!!! I just love what you did with the elephant and camel Simon - great shots...
I trust you enjoyed the Australian Zoo... I went there last year and found it very different...

It certainly is John - I hadn't been there for several years and I was amazed at how much money the Irwins have sunk into the place. It's currently something like 72 hectares and the plan is to build it to over 300 in the next 10 or so years. They are well on their way.

Thanks for your comments regarding the elephant and camel. I wasn't sure if they were going to work but the more I look at the elephant, the more I like it. Sort of coming out of the darkness towards the camera...

The camel... well it was just an angle I thought I'd try. Slightly more photogenic than the other end..

especially like your take on the camel

the elephant is definitely out of the ordinary also.

well done.

steve

Simon, hardly recognised you with your new avatar.

The camel shot cracked me up - very cute. Nice Tiger shots too.

Now you can see why there were always fights amongst the Foreign Legionnaires over the camels.

You wouldn't want to get the ugly one!

macka wrote:Simon, hardly recognised you with your new avatar.

That's what happens when you visit the zoo

As the others said, the elephant and the camel are great. Initially, I thought the elephant was a bit too dark, but looking at it some more, it is a great perspective,

Hope you were still able to have fun

cheers,

André

Simon,

Really like the Elephant and Camel perspectives.

The first tiger shot is good, though the second it is far more obvious that it is shot thru glass.

Actually - I think I'm falling in love with that Elephant shot Simon... I might have to buy it off you
Is it a crop? If so, I might give it a little more room on the left (or crop a bit more on the right), so that the eyes are centred...

Steve - glad you like! Thanks.

Macka - sorry to throw you. This is one of my old avatars from another forum years ago (Leek - you might remember Scrat from my Geocaching days?) and I was reminded of him when I took the kids to Ice Age 2 last weekend. Just gotta love the little guy! Thanks for the comments on the shots - the camel almost looked like he was singing..

Trevor - this one was particularly alluring - I'm a sucker for exotic accents, long eyelashes and the aroma of manure..

Andre - There was hardly anyone there!!! Walked straigh in to every exhibit with no dramas whatsoever. I was amazed. So, yes, we did have fun. Thanks for your kind words.

Dion - Thanks mate. Yep - have to agree. I scrounged around to find the cleanest section of glass I could but there were still some smudges and reflections. Just have to climb the fence next time...

Manta wrote:Trevor - this one was particularly alluring - I'm a sucker for exotic accents, long eyelashes and the aroma of manure..

Very remiss of me - apart from my flippant remark about the camel, I didn't comment on the images.

I think they are very good. I especially like the elephant, and the big cats are nice also, although perhaps the glass prevented optimal sharpness. Well done.

cricketfan wrote:

Manta wrote:Trevor - this one was particularly alluring - I'm a sucker for exotic accents, long eyelashes and the aroma of manure..

Very remiss of me - apart from my flippant remark about the camel, I didn't comment on the images.

I think they are very good. I especially like the elephant, and the big cats are nice also, although perhaps the glass prevented optimal sharpness. Well done.

Cheers Trevor. I don't think that damn lens helped much either...

Simon, i like these shots mate, and well for the lens yes cheap but does ok for what they are and well these shots look good, 1st pic could be a bit brighter but all good.
Cheers

BBJ wrote:Simon, i like these shots mate, and well for the lens yes cheap but does ok for what they are and well these shots look good, 1st pic could be a bit brighter but all good.
Cheers

Thanks John - yep, one of these days I'll get myself an 80-400 or, preferably, a 70-200. 'Til then, I'll have to make do with this.

Tiger shots look dark because I really had to push the contrast in Curves to offset the hazing effect the glass had on them. The original shots looked like they were shot through fog!

sometimes worth taking the ole windex to the zoo to clean the glass, at least on the outside.

worth going midweek too and outta school hols to get better access.

Steve

Great shots of the elephant and camel. Are you going to frame the elephant I think it really deserves to be on a wall.

Cant wait for the bird shots and did you get any of Steve himself?

Brett

The tiger shots seem to have a smidge too much contrast and seem to lose shadow detail, but I really enjoyed your different perspective on the image of the elephant, unusual and very effective, it's very catching... Good to see something different and shows a creative eye... Well done...

Mate, for this sort of stuff, the 80-400 would be a boon!

Simon,

I'm with most others - love the elephant and camel. Its great to get a different perspective on the run-of-the-mill shots you tend to see mostly.

Well done

Cheers

Michael

Thanks guys - Steve wasn't there this time (but, then again, he's never been there any other time I've visited either so no surprises)

I'm considering printing and framing the elephant but it's pretty noisy at full size. I'll have to tweak it a bit more.

Love the camel shot. Nice take.

Cheers
Sheila

Manta
It's great to see something very different from the usual "zoo photos".
These would look great all together on a wall somewhere.

Did you go to the zoo with the specific intent to take all these photos in this manner ?

A very interesting theme, indeed.

Well done.... PS...my fave is the camel

Thanks Sheila and Dave.

Dave - Yes, for these two, at least, I had a definite composition in mind before I went. The elephant shot has been in my head for ages but it's rare one gets the opportunity to actually do it. As for the camel, a close up muzzle/snout shot was what I was after - but wasn't sure which beastie would be the star. The background and lighting at the camel enclosure made the choice an easy one. Looking at it now though, I wish I'd closed down the aperture a bit to get the nostrils in focus as well. Next time...

for a little while, I wasnt sure if that camel one may have been of mick jagger, seeing as how the stones are in the country.

Steve

Simon
Love the last two shots. Ashame the elephants eyes are to dark to revel the detail. Some of them have really long eye lashes.

Tiger would have looked better if crikey(Steve) was being held in his jaws.

Craig

avkomp wrote:for a little while, I wasnt sure if that camel one may have been of mick jagger, seeing as how the stones are in the country.

Steve

Not enough wrinkles Steve!

CraigVTR wrote:Tiger would have looked better if crikey(Steve) was being held in his jaws.

And then where would we Quarantine officers be? We'd have to find another annoying but famous person to push our cause! (Pauline Hanson maybe? "Quarantine? Please explain..")

Master Simon - absolutely fantastic shots !!!!!! I don't really think you can hammer the G lens anymore - it certainly pulled through with these shots ! I'm absolutely in love with the elephant shot - just a stunner. I hope these have been printed out, and haven't been left to slumber in the land of electronic media !?

Well done munchkin - shots to be proud of !!!!!!!

Rel

does this mean I have to dye my hair red???????

Simon :

(Pauline Hanson maybe? "Quarantine? Please explain..

blacknstormy wrote:Master Simon - absolutely fantastic shots !!!!!! I don't really think you can hammer the G lens anymore - it certainly pulled through with these shots ! I'm absolutely in love with the elephant shot - just a stunner. I hope these have been printed out, and haven't been left to slumber in the land of electronic media !?

Well done munchkin - shots to be proud of !!!!!!!

Rel

does this mean I have to dye my hair red???????

Simon :

(Pauline Hanson maybe? "Quarantine? Please explain..

Thanks Rel. Just off to the my local Hardly Normal to get a print of the elephant now...

Simon I have the 70-300G (as well as many others members who got it in a kit deal initially), and really, these images show that it earns its place in the bag. For the low cost of this lens and with some perserverance it is pretty good, (I still remember a hand held shot I took of a butterfly a day or so after getting the D70 that impressed me). Don't forget that the image that many have been attracted to had nothing to do with the quality of the glass but with your unique composition of the elephant. It is reminiscent of many posts here on the nature of the image and why it is the Photographer that determines whether an image is going to be memorable, not just the technical aspects of the outcome. (It is of course nice to have it all ) Another simple point that really threw me was the comment, clean the glass with a bit of Windex!, I have to admit I did not even think of that, yet it is so absoluteley obvious once stated. Finally, I live on the S/Coast (16 years) yet haven't even been to the Aust Zoo, although my kids have. I plan to go now and see what I can do. Might even take the 70-300 with me. Actually that sounds like another good idea for a meet

The camel shot certainly makes you smile..
Nice elephant too.

Suzanne

Dargan wrote:Simon I have the 70-300G (as well as many others members who got it in a kit deal initially), and really, these images show that it earns its place in the bag. For the low cost of this lens and with some perserverance it is pretty good, (I still remember a hand held shot I took of a butterfly a day or so after getting the D70 that impressed me). Don't forget that the image that many have been attracted to had nothing to do with the quality of the glass but with your unique composition of the elephant. It is reminiscent of many posts here on the nature of the image and why it is the Photographer that determines whether an image is going to be memorable, not just the technical aspects of the outcome. (It is of course nice to have it all ) Another simple point that really threw me was the comment, clean the glass with a bit of Windex!, I have to admit I did not even think of that, yet it is so absoluteley obvious once stated. Finally, I live on the S/Coast (16 years) yet haven't even been to the Aust Zoo, although my kids have. I plan to go now and see what I can do. Might even take the 70-300 with me. Actually that sounds like another good idea for a meet

You've raised some good points there Michael but I still see the limitations of the G lens. I've been very happy with some if the images I've taken with it but, when I look back over my early efforts, I almost cringe! Most would never see the light of day on this forum, let alone in an online gallery. Still - that's what this game is all about; continous improvement. The fact that I now judge many of my initial 'keepers' as rubbish proves, to me anyway, that I've come a long way. I guess I've also learned to work within the limits of the equipment I have and, sadly, the G performance envelope is a lot narrower than most which means you don't get too many second chances with it. I've posted 6 images from 164 images. That's about the average. Methinks a more professional lens, whilst it won't make me a better photographer, will go a long way t improving my hit/miss ratio.

Oh, about the glass cleaner. Great idea (and I've used a shirt sleeve or jacket in the past) but as was already mentioned in this thread, it's only good for the "people" side of the enclosure. Most of the muck builds up on the 'wild' side. The tiger shots? This particular male was regularly launching himself at full pace at the glass, bouncing off it and landing in his pond. Water and dirt was being thrown everywhere! Unfortunatley, there was a post and about 50 people between me and his "attack" point so I couldn't get a front-on view. He was also so bloody fast that the G lens wouldn't have kept up!

Thanks Suzanne - glad you like it.