This was my first zoo photography outing. Please let me know what you think!
Thanks,
-Jeff
Posted by Jamie Botdorf on February 5, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Nice collection, Jeff! I especially like the one you posted here and the elephant taking a bath. I also like the B&W treatments. Good use of a beautiful day.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on February 5, 2009 at 4:03 PM
You got some nice shots there Jeff. I remember going there a few years ago around this time. Its nice since there aren't many people there.
Nice shots Jeff, took a look around your site, and am very impressed. Love the layout, and you have some stunning images.
Posted by John Klotz on February 5, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Yes a nice collection in deed! I love the giraffe and the ape. Their faces a r eso expressive and comical.
Posted by Erik Aagaard on February 6, 2009 at 11:58 AM
First of all, I've never tried photographing animals in a zoo. I can imagine it's not as easy as you made it look!
You really captured the "essence" of the animals you photographed. I think the elephant being sprayed is great - you can just see the joy in its face! Zebras are so graphic, and you did a good job - especially on the one full-body shot where the zebra is angling toward the camera.
One suggestion I might make is that on several images, the background is a little distracting. Not sure if you were shooting wide open or not? Alternatively, I've seen other zoo work where the background was manipulated (darkened, I think?) to focus attention on the animal.
In addition, some of the images just lack a little "pop," at least on my screen. The lion above, for example. While you've got plenty of contrast at the high and low end of the exposure scale, have you considered maybe a adding little more contrast in the midrange?
Let me emphasize again that I really like this collection; these (subjective) observations are really very picky. Good job!
Erik
Discussion
5 repliesHere are some black and white shots I took. All were taken with a Canon 50D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens, and processed in Aperture.
This was my first zoo photography outing. Please let me know what you think!
Thanks,
-Jeff
You really captured the "essence" of the animals you photographed. I think the elephant being sprayed is great - you can just see the joy in its face! Zebras are so graphic, and you did a good job - especially on the one full-body shot where the zebra is angling toward the camera.
One suggestion I might make is that on several images, the background is a little distracting. Not sure if you were shooting wide open or not? Alternatively, I've seen other zoo work where the background was manipulated (darkened, I think?) to focus attention on the animal.
In addition, some of the images just lack a little "pop," at least on my screen. The lion above, for example. While you've got plenty of contrast at the high and low end of the exposure scale, have you considered maybe a adding little more contrast in the midrange?
Let me emphasize again that I really like this collection; these (subjective) observations are really very picky. Good job!
Erik