New Lens at the Zoo

[Peanuts]

I finally got a telephoto lens, the Canon EF 70-300mm DO IS. And what is a better place to try it out then the zoo?

I posted this on another forum, but go just about as close as you can get to no posts, so I decided to try it here with all you friendly people . Give me the honest truth with these as I know I have a lot to learn.

For a better feel of the photos please feel free to view more photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/britstaddon/

Seeing as I don't have a program (yet) that can read RAW, these are all from the Jpegs, but hopefully later this week after finding a decent program I will play with them in RAW.

Thanks once again!


Blue Peafowl

Ring-Tailed Lemur

Great Grey Owl

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

Love the shots Peanuts, awesome! What zoo did you visit?? I use the nikon 70-300 for my animal stuff, and really like it, but wow do you ever need to be spot on with your focus eh?? I alway use manual focus.. and hand held too.. it's tough, but I love a challenge!

 

[Peanuts]

Thanks for the reply.

These were taken at the Calgary Zoo. I am amazed at all the changes there as I have not visited it for about 10 years since I was just a wee kid.

About the focusing, oy, I have so many where the fur/feathers around the eyes are spot on, and the eys are just a tinge blurry. For instance the Mongoose Lemur. Whoops.
I used Auto focus for most just because the crowd was huge that day and I was continuously being josseled about by kids and I didn't have the effort to manual focus. :blushing: The ones that I did were where the animal was near fencing, and also for the burrowing owl as I was focusing through approx 1" square fencing. Turned out a little OOF but in general I was happy.

Thanks once again.

 

[LaFoto]

Well, wow. These are all great. I like the lemur best, I must say.
These make me want to go to the zoo - but I say that here with every zoo series that I see. And what use would it be, now that my SLR has packed up last weekend :cry: :cry: :cry: !?!?!??

 

[railman44]

Very nice!

 

[CleeM.]

Great shots. I'm from Calgary

 

[Chiller]

Killer shots Peanuts. I love number two, but all three are just amazing. The colour in the first shot is great.
Im heading to the Toronto Zoo on Saturday. :bounce:

 

[Raymond J Barlow]

Killer shots Peanuts. I love number two, but all three are just amazing. The colour in the first shot is great.
Im heading to the Toronto Zoo on Saturday. :bounce:

hey Chiller. hope you have a good day there., can't wait to see your shots!

Peanuts.. I know that fencing, and its really hard to get a clear shot, and good lighting.. I was lucky on my last visit to the safari, they had a Birds of Prey show there, and I got a front row seat!

I try to focus on the eyes, and hope the dof covers the whole face.. if you are in shadows, your dof will likely be too shallow, but the soft lighting leaves no blowouts.. and when you have good lighting, and great dof, the blowouts mess up the shots! I need to learn more about bracketing.. I think this will help. I also shoot in manual exposure,, keeps my fingers busy.. and helps me concentrate on exposure while shooting. Trusting the automatic settings on the camera just messes up too many good shots, imo

Thanks for your insight .. looking fwd to seeing more from you.

 

[aprilraven]

wonderful shot....and like raymond said, your focus is great...look forward to more from ya...the detail of the owl is just precise..

all ya'll headed to the zoo... i can tell canada is not as hot as it is here... we will have to wait till october for the animals to be out down here...you go see them now, and they stay inside thier indoor places, watching hbo, remote in hand/paw and fans blowing on 'em..mint juleps in the other paw..

 

[Miki]

Nice pics !!
Great subject, composition & focus.
I loved the lemur most - looks almost like selective coloring. Good angle too, like he was posing for a portrait.

 

[DallasTT]

Looks good man. I like it alot.

 

[Peanuts]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Much appreciated. I enjoyed the zoo so much and hope to go back soon, preferably on a cloudy day to avoid the harsh shadowing and the crowds. And in reference to to the climate, it was sure hot enough for me those days. It has convinced me when I am older not to move way south.

Looks good man

Just as a note. Female here.

Once again, I appreciate TPF so much for all the help and comments. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I will get another post up and going as I was inspired to start a theme from looking at all the others here.