Zoo

[Jonathan K]

Hi all,

I recently visited the zoo in Amnéville, France, and ... yes I took my camera.
Kind of a disaster gearwise, I forgot my hood for the APO 100-300 (which I used for 99% of the shots), so I had to use my left hand to avoid flares since the sunlight was very harsh, and I took the wrong size polarizer... which spoilt me quite a lot of good shots, especially with the polar bear...

http://picasaweb.google.com/jonathankaell/ZooDAmnVille

Thanks for looking, comments are welcome of course!

[Javelin]

Still you didn't do badly. you have some nice shots in there.

[aster]

Hi Jonathan,

I would also say that they are good. Maybe you needn't be so hard on yourself at all, as those are all very candid shots and seeing the animals in their natural mood of the day looks very appealing to the viewer!

I enjoyed them and it's good to see this lens at work as well from a technical point of view.

Thanks
Yildiz

[Dr. Harout]

Except for a few pictures you could have easily fooled us by saying you took those shots while in different safaris.
And how dare you call those pictures "spoilt"?
Excellent mon ami
Just a routine question if you don't mind, was it you or the A700...?

[David Kilpatrick]

About as a good a set as I have seen from one visit to a zoo - I thought the ostrich neck and fence poles was very amusing, and the underwater polar pear most unusual. Looks like a very good zoo for photography.

David

[Jonathan K]

Thanks all for your comments. I suppose I sounded much unhappier than I am: These are of course the good ones, there were quite a few, I left out the spoilt shots...
I had one of the bear breathing out just in front of the camera with its paws on the window, and all the bubbles out of its nose....It is even if focus. And then... There is a reflection of a nice brightly coloured T-shirt with an inscription like "Esprit" or "Mango" or something similar in the middle of its face...
Maybe I should sell it as an advert...

I was just mad at myself for forgetting the hood and the polarizer...

Dr. Harout, yes it was the A700, I used it next to the 7D (which feels like a relic since the moment I use the other one), with the KM 100-300 APO, a lens which I will certainly keep, even if I get another one. It is so small, so practical, and I did not encounter any optical weaknesses in real life.
I believe that I managed to keep the EXIF, despite the frames around the pics.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers Jonathan

[Greg Beetham]

Ha, long live the 100-300 APO, just goes to show what it can do in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, I thought those were all great.
Greg

[Birma]

I like the "winking leopard" best (no. 23?). Great shots of animal heads and expressions (faces?).

[Jonathan K]

Thanks for your positive reactions! I highly appreciate it.

Cheers Jonathan

[Maks]

Nice shots, good quality. Who is funny animal on the 33 shot? He looks in wide-eyed astonishment.

[Jonathan K]

Thanks Maks,

the animal on picture 33 is a "ring-tailed lemur", a primate from the island of Madagascar... (hope I got that right).

Cheers Jonathan

[kelvinyam]

Hi Jonathan, among the series, I like the parrot the most. It has some nice detail and the colorful feather really stand out from the dark back ground.
I too like to shoot in zoo, as those animals were less shy and always allow me to go near. A 70-300mm zoom lens can always produce a nice frame without the need of cropping

[Dr. Harout]

I would dare say that Jonathan is busy doing animal portraiture

[bonneville]

great set Johnathan

[Jonathan K]

Hi there,

Thanks for watching and commenting.
Kelvin, zoos do have an advantage: you don't have to look for subjects to shoot, but the real challenge is to shoot them in a way that they seem to be in their natural habitat or at least that they don't seem like prisoners. Not too easy, sometimes, especially when you are having huge windows or cages to look through.

Well, Dr. Harout, I must admit that I was actually working these days... Sh.. happens. And after work I was busy trying out v.4 of the A700. Still happy with it. It is like Santa Claus coming in summer!
By the way: a link to a few animals I shot recently...

http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... f=17&t=846

Thanks, bonneville for watching and commenting!

Cheers

Jonathan