Had some fun today, both in and out of the zoo

[robbins.photo]

wow, that leopard. Those eyes and entire fur color is awesome.

Thanks astro. Got a good shot of the jag today, still at the zoo but I'll see about getting it up as soon as I make it home.

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[bogeyguy]

I like em but we got to talk about this... some of the guys now are posting sheep now. I don't see any sheep.:roll:

I'll see if I have a photo of my daaaaad. LOL!

 

[nzmacro]

Darn nice shooting and a great BIF in there Robbin. That first one............ awww I've gone all weak at the knees, what a shot !!!. The eyes have it and a fantastic looking cat that one, also go for the setting in that shot and the perspective. Love all of the shots Robbin, great stuff.

All the best up there Robbin and that cat, oh that cat

Danny.

 

[IzzieK]

This is only my second day here and this is so far the best shots I have seen ever! All are sharp and really good. All of them in my opinion are keepers.

#1 I particularly like the eyes, the sharpness and the pose. It's like you waited for it and planned and executed it well.
#2 is just as good in sharpness but the eyes needs a bit of glint, a catchlight...
#3 is an absolute perfect shot! The pose, the dreamy look in the distance, the sharpness and the bokeh...what more can you ask for? No wonder you like this shot very much...
#4 is equally as good but not as good as #3's overall pose.
#5 Your gorilla will have been better if you put some catchlight in his eyes a bit, make it look more natural in its habitat.

Izzie, thanks for the kind words, they are greatly appreciated.

I also very much appreciate you taking the time on such a detailed critique. I was wondering if you had any techniques you could share regarding catchlights, the reason I ask is that for these types of shots I'm generally restricted to ambient light only, no flash or reflectors.

So I was wondering if you had any techniques you use in situations like that to capture carchlights.

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I am sort of used to giving detailed critique ... or trained myself to give detailed critique ... because saying your shot is nice is not enough. The audience needs to know the reason why I like a certain shot or not or if there is room for improvement.

I was taught that in taking shots of subjects with eyes, the most important is making sure you focus on the eye nearest you or the camera. Sometimes, we can not help but get what we can get in a shot and no chance of planning, that is why softwares are invented. I use Photoshop CS5 and CS6 for that.

 

[robbins.photo]

Darn nice shooting and a great BIF in there Robbin. That first one............ awww I've gone all weak at the knees, what a shot !!!. The eyes have it and a fantastic looking cat that one, also go for the setting in that shot and the perspective. Love all of the shots Robbin, great stuff.

All the best up there Robbin and that cat, oh that cat

Danny.

Thanks NZ - the amur can be awfully uncooperative, you can't really shoot them outside because they have a wire cage setup and you can't get close enough without it showing up very prominently in the photo, and the indoor portion of the enclosure is just filled to the brim with all sorts of stuff that they can hide behind - so it takes a while to get a photo or two of them but boy it's worth the wait when you do. Just beautiful creatures.

 

[robbins.photo]

I am sort of used to giving detailed critique ... or trained myself to give detailed critique ... because saying your shot is nice is not enough. The audience needs to know the reason why I like a certain shot or not or if there is room for improvement.

I was taught that in taking shots of subjects with eyes, the most important is making sure you focus on the eye nearest you or the camera. Sometimes, we can not help but get what we can get in a shot and no chance of planning, that is why softwares are invented. I use Photoshop CS5 and CS6 for that.

No worries Izzie, I was hoping maybe you had some techniques you use for improving the odds of getting catchlights using nothing but ambient light. I'll do some research on possibly adding something with photoshop as well, though it's not something I'd like to do often on some shots I think they might benefit from it providing I can find a technique to add them when they aren't already present off the camera.

As for me I'm always happy to get critique, it helps me improve. I look back at the stuff I shot even 6 months ago and I can proudly say that I've improved a lot since then, and hopefully 6 months from now I'll be able to say the same about the stuff I'm shooting now.

 

[JacaRanda]

That leopard shot! Yup, print it hang it.

 

[DarkShadow]

Yep! always got to start off with a good kitty and end the show with a good gorilla. Nice series and I could see why you like #3 it rocks,I Love that shot.The body position with the relaxed elbow on the tree,hand positioning and the eyes in the direction its looking IMO would not be easy to replicate that shot.

 

[baturn]

I'll be darned! I was so taken with #s 1 and 4, that I completely missed the excellent RWB BIF.

 

[robbins.photo]

I'll be darned! I was so taken with #s 1 and 4, that I completely missed the excellent RWB BIF.

That's ok, I almost missed him too.. lol. I had gotten out of the car down by the lake, was walking toward the edge of the water to get a shot of a completely different bird when this guy shot out of the bushes to my left. I managed to get one frame and that was it.