Zoo togs...what is on your do and don't list?

[slackercruster]

Like shooting at the zoo? What is on your do and don't list?

Equip to take or leave whether photo or otherwise?

Successes and failures?

Areas that have wasted your time or produced well for you?


Thanks!

 

[SCraig]

I hit the Nashville Zoo once every week or so. The majority of the time I use the same things: My 70-300 lens, my SB-700, and if I'm shooting in the aquarium area, and off-camera flash cord.

For areas with a wire fence, use the largest aperture you can get away with and forget the flash. The large aperture will normally prevent seeing the fence at all, but a flash will reflect off of it making it visible as a cross-hatched haze on the image.

For areas with a glass wall I put my lens hood directly against the glass to eliminate reflections as much as possible. If I need to use a flash I use an off-camera cord and hold the flash in one hand and the camera in the other, separated by as much distance as I can get.

I've found a tripod to be little more than a nuisance. People are always tripping over it or I can't find room to set it up or something. If I use my 150-500 lens then I take a monopod but have pretty much given up on trying to use a tripod. Just too many people around most of the time.

Sharpness is everything. If you can't count the hairs on a cat or the scales on a fish then it isn't sharp enough. I normally shoot around f/8 and with as much shutter speed as I can get. With my D90 I usually shot at ISO 400 but with my D7000 I can raise that to ISO 1600 without any significant noise in properly exposed images.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I usually hate zoo photos. The distracting background, the fencing, the faux rock. Last time I went, this is the only shot I truly liked. The black background is actually a shed and he just happened to look at me and the shed line is exactly in the middle of the head.

 

[MTVision]

I usually hate zoo photos. The distracting background, the fencing, the faux rock. Last time I went, this is the only shot I truly liked. The black background is actually a shed and he just happened to look at me and the shed line is exactly in the middle of the head.

I usually don't like zoo photos either! But there is this one lady who frequents another forum who takes AMAZING zoo photos. I'll try to find a link to her work - they definitely don't look like they were taken in a zoo!

 

[Robin Usagani]

I usually hate zoo photos. The distracting background, the fencing, the faux rock. Last time I went, this is the only shot I truly liked. The black background is actually a shed and he just happened to look at me and the shed line is exactly in the middle of the head.

I usually don't like zoo photos either! But there is this one lady who frequents another forum who takes AMAZING zoo photos. I'll try to find a link to her work - they definitely don't look like they were taken in a zoo!

Yeah, some zoos are better than other. Denver zoo... not so much. When it is a great day to go to the zoo, usually the animals are hiding in the shade. Hiding in the shade = closer to the faux background. Usually they put trees farther away from the barrier so the animals cant climb and hop over the fence. Even when I had my 100-400, still not good enough.

 

[Seefutlung]

Like shooting at the zoo? What is on your do and don't list?

Equip to take or leave whether photo or otherwise?

Successes and failures?

Areas that have wasted your time or produced well for you?


Thanks!

I always go as long as I can. The longer the better in order to eliminate zoo clutter ... Watch the background and the light and position oneself to take advantage of both.

Gary

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Gary

 

[snowbear]

I don't have a large selection of lenses (currently only 24mm, 50mm & 105mm) so I am somewhat limited in range. A agree that the backgrounds and cage/glass foregrounds are usually bad, but I'll just try and get what I can.

The giraffe and prairie dogs are at the Maryland Zoo @ Baltimore; the owls are at a local nature center (b&w film scan).

 

[slackercruster]

1x a week...WOW. I have not been to the zoo in a few decades. No zoo close by me. Maybe 1hr 15min drive.

Never thought about taking a flash. The old zoos I went to were mostly outdoors / animals far away. Monopod vs tripod sounds good.

 

[SCraig]

Well, heck. I didn't realize we were supposed to post examples:

Clouded Leopard Cub - Nashville Zoo

Cougar Cub - Nashville Zoo

Jaguar - Chattanooga Zoo

Cotton-topped Tamarin - Chattanooga Zoo

 

[slackercruster]

Well, heck. I didn't realize we were supposed to post examples:

Clouded Leopard Cub - Nashville Zoo

Cougar Cub - Nashville Zoo

Jaguar - Chattanooga Zoo

Cotton-topped Tamarin - Chattanooga Zoo

Sure post away....ALWAYS!

This is a photo forum right?

Thanks!

 

[MTVision]

1x a week...WOW. I have not been to the zoo in a few decades. No zoo close by me. Maybe 1hr 15min drive.

Never thought about taking a flash. The old zoos I went to were mostly outdoors / animals far away. Monopod vs tripod sounds good.

Right! I went to the zoo for the first time in a decade last October. I live in rural Vermont so the closest zoo is around 3 hours away. There is a zoo in Canada that is probably closer but now you need a passport to cross the border

 

[SCraig]

1x a week...WOW. I have not been to the zoo in a few decades. No zoo close by me. Maybe 1hr 15min drive.

Never thought about taking a flash. The old zoos I went to were mostly outdoors / animals far away. Monopod vs tripod sounds good.

I'm sure some zoos are still that way. I've only been to three, one in Phoenix, one in Nashville, and one in Chattanooga. At all three of those my 70-300 lens was plenty. I occasionally haul my 150-500 to the Nashville zoo but when I do it's normally for a specific shot of a specific animal. When I went to the Chattanooga zoo I had my 150-500 in the car but didn't need it. When I went to Phoenix I didn't even take it with me.

The zoo here in Nashville is only about 2 miles from my home and I keep an annual membership. In the spring and fall I stop there a lot after work and just walk around for a while to clear my head. It's close enough that I can go a lot and I've been so many times I know where everything is, what I'm going for, what is new, etc.

 

[12sndsgood]

I try to get there as soon as ours open. cooler temperatures mean more movement and its usually when they are feeding the tigers and bears so they are more active. I usually end up using my 70-200. i try to keep any man made looking object out of the picture, try to keep it as natural as possible. I'f im shooting thru Plexi I will take my lens hood off so I am as close to it as possible. And shoot for the eyes usually.

heres a few of mine from the Indianapolis zoo.


Zoo0013 by Square1 photography, on Flickr


Zoo0011 by Square1 photography, on Flickr


zoo0028 by Square1 photography, on Flickr


zoo0030 by Square1 photography, on Flickr

 

[SCraig]

I try to get there as soon as ours open. cooler temperatures mean more movement and its usually when they are feeding the tigers and bears so they are more active. I usually end up using my 70-200. i try to keep any man made looking object out of the picture, try to keep it as natural as possible. I'f im shooting thru Plexi I will take my lens hood off so I am as close to it as possible. And shoot for the eyes usually.

That is another excellent point that I forgot about. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon the animals KNOW it's time for them to be fed, and they will start to get a lot more active. In the morning after they eat they get lazy and want to take a nap. I see the cats here pacing back and forth late in the afternoon just waiting for the handlers to feed them.

Many of the animals will get a lot more active when it's cool but others won't. It depends on what climate their species comes from. In the winter around here the Lemurs will form up in a big "Lemur Ball" trying to keep each other warm since they come from a warm climate. On the other hand the Snow Leopards at the Chattanooga Zoo were nearly comatose from the heat when I was there a few weeks ago since their species comes from mountainous areas where it's cold. Most cats love cooler weather but some of the smaller animals don't.

 

[Seefutlung]

1x a week...WOW. I have not been to the zoo in a few decades. No zoo close by me. Maybe 1hr 15min drive.

Never thought about taking a flash. The old zoos I went to were mostly outdoors / animals far away. Monopod vs tripod sounds good.

A flash can be very helpful, especially as fill and/or for some very cool catch-lights.

Gary