DSLRUsers.com

Behind bars...Perth Zoo;

Tigers:



http://images.fotopic.net/ylhsdo.jpg

http://images.fotopic.net/ylhsdr.jpg





Our Orange Relatives:



http://images.fotopic.net/ylhseq.jpg

Macaws:



Munkeys:



More here:
http://lukeo.fotopic.net/

Edit (Stubbsy): Too many images in post - please refer the FAQ

33 views, not one comment, same as my last thread... thanks for posting yraen69 glad you feel like your a member of the community.

Thanks! Threads about dogs, small children, sun sets, and other mundane things get a flood of responses, I guess Tigers, Lions and Crocodiles are old hat... yesterdays news... nothing special.

1,3 4 and 5 are excellent except for the uncentred tight crop
the tone and contrast on these are very appealing

3rd one don't see much shots of tigers at that angle it seems like your just there in the pit

3 in particular the ears are out of the frame
it may look more menacing and inmtimate cropped tight but the way they are done looks like you rushed a little bit

Thanks for the feedback Wendellt I love your work, and read every post you submitt here over the past couple of years. Means allot to have someone like you comment on my photo's, cheers!

I try and keep as non-destructive work flow as I can keeping all the NEF files untouched. I'll go back and review some of the tiger shots to see if I can come up with a more appealing crop, although these were quite tight shots to begin with. I see what you mean about the ears, I wasn't rushing I don't think I just don't have your perspective your experiance on what works and what doesn't.

Glad you like the colours and contrast, still learning how to use the Nikon Capture software properly and trying to avoid blowing highlights. I've found its very easy to make your subjects face look great, at the expense of the rest of the photo. Maybe its a technique thing I am unsure.

The B&W one is a little sad in colour, it's ever so slightly out of focus. The tiger came right upto the glass and bent down to survey everyone looking at him, I couldnt focus close enough quick enough I had to take a step back with my 70-200mm. He didnt stay there long and I didn't get a second chance at the shot. I guess that's life with animals and children right? No second chances.

yraen96 - Hey mate sorry if you feel your threads have been overlooked, I know I just came back from a week away, and had over 2500 new posts, so sometimes they can be missed.

I really like the tiger set the first and last being my favourites (but the last seems like a partial desat, and I think a colour or black and white may have been better treatments, in my opinion).

In the next series (Im treating each 4 as a seperate set), I like the grin on the big fella in the first shot, off set by the gloomy look of the second behind it (reminds me alot of the most recent Planet of the apes move).

The little money shot is also very cute, shame you didn't get any eye contact.

THe macaw, well this shot make me a little sad as something so beauitful is house in such dull surrounds, was this your goal to off set the colour and interest of the bird against the bland vanilla background ?

The last I like, good eye contact but I'd rather a closer crop to remove some of the distraction.


Also as a long time member you should be aware of the 4 image limit that is suggested for review threads, it makes it a lot easier to provide feedback when you limit the number of shots in your thread, in this case I would of seperated the 4 tiger shots in a seperate thread to the other "Wild things", if you a little rusty on the posting guidelines then perhaps brush up on them inside the forums FAQ.

Hi yraen69,

I really like all three of your tiger shots. Very nice.
The third one would have been perfect if the top part wasnt cut out but still it is very good.

A tighter shot on the Macaw if possible would have been good

Hehehe. How could you not like the last shot. Funny creatures.

Thanks Alpha_7 I'll try my hand at a B&W conversion on the bottom tiger shot. I see what you mean about sheer number of posts I guess it would get a bit boring saying goodshot/badshot all day. Still even after a couple of years I see a shot I like, I'll download it and check out the EXIF and ask questions about lighting and technique etc.

I have some more of the small orangutang with good eye contact, he was a difficult subject to capture constantly moving and fidgetting. With the Macaw yes I think that's what I set out to do, the poor things look so amazing but they are shoved into a plain aluminium cage, with rusty iron perchs. They look both colourful and bored.

Hmm I'll see how I go on the Lemur (the last one), good idea on the tighter crop his eyes are very sharp should bring him out more. I think I was trying to show off how poor his cage was but only succeeded in showing uninteresting brown dirt.

4 images per post I'll keep that in mind, been around these forums a few years and I like to browse more than post my own work. Only now I am hunting for tips, and techniques to improve do I post up my own photo's.

yraen69 wrote:33 views, not one comment, same as my last thread... thanks for posting yraen69 glad you feel like your a member of the community.

Thanks! Threads about dogs, small children, sun sets, and other mundane things get a flood of responses, I guess Tigers, Lions and Crocodiles are old hat... yesterdays news... nothing special.

Please don't think lots of views and no comments is a reflection on the quality of your work. There will be times that, for whatever reason, people take a quick look at a post with the intention of coming back later. If you've made a post an no one has commented for a few days I'd be more concerned than when only 24 hours or so has passed.

As for the images:
The tiger shots as a group suffer from limitations of trying to get shots in a zoo - it's damn hard to get them to look at you and that reduces the impact of the image. That is just a matter of luck and patience. I think #3 and #4 of the tigers are a little too tightly cropped as well.

The two orangutan shots are good with the second being the better - I like the high key treatment of the second and again find the first a little tightly cropped.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record - I think your cropping of the Macaw shot has also let you down, but this time it's not cropped tightly enough. Your subject (the bird) is tucked away over on the right hand third of the frame with a large blank area to its left dominated by the hook. The image would be stronger where the left was cropped out

The monkey pic is great - it has what was missing from the tiger shots - eye contact - that litle fella is staring straight out at us and so makes for a much stronger shot (and it's a good crop too )

SO as a summary - I may sound a little negative, but there with better cropping (or framing) these images could be a lot better. Go back to the zoo and try again bearing this and the other critiques in mind

Remember too that whatever I or anyone else says, YOU are the arbiter of what's best in your images - so feel free to ignore me (plus, see my disclaimer below )

I really do like 4, and the B&W treatment works well!

I like your avatar Bwh

I had some time this afternoon and had another go at three images, I'll try my hand at the tigers tomorow.

Eye contact:


Macaw:


Lemur:

Luke

The recrop on the lemur is perfect - that one is as perfect as you could get it with what you've captured. The macaw still suffers for me because of that hook. Have you considered a crop something like the one below:

 PS If you don't want me hosting a copy of your image on my web site just say so and I'll delete it

I like the tighter crop, but not the one with the bracket removed.
I like the hook.
The macaw, with its back turned to it seems to be saying "You've got to be kidding! What kind of a perch do you think i want?"

Yes I know it is on an iron pipe, but at least that's kind of like a branch

Greg

"Please don't think lots of views and no comments is a reflection on the quality of your work. There will be times that, for whatever reason, people take a quick look at a post with the intention of coming back later. If you've made a post an no one has commented for a few days I'd be more concerned than when only 24 hours or so has passed."

Yeh thank you for that, I guess I was annoyed my other thread sank to the bottom without any posts either. Busy week I guess. I have no problem taking critiscism, harsh or good and am willing to listen to whatever people have to say about my work, if only they just say it in the first place.

I'd love to go back to the zoo and have another go at many of the animals there, and vice versa I'm enjoying going back to the photo's I've already taken and cropping them in different ways, and applying slightly different curves and colours to each when I do. You are most welcome to any photo I post on my fotopic site, it's great someone actually bothered to take the time to work on something I took.