Zoo trip, redux

[robbins.photo]

Ok, got a few more done - man I just went shutter happy today.

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Great shots! I wish we had a zoo that was even remotely close.

 

[tecboy]

That lion is staring at me like a pork chop.

 

[LaFoto]

That lion is staring at me like a pork chop.

Indeed!

What a relief to see that the others pose in a much more relaxed manner. Not so keen (on you/me/us). ;-)

But hey, they DID pose for you all right, those animals did! No wonder you went triggerhappy! That'd have made me triggerhappy, too: cooperative animals like those!

 

[EOV]

I wonder if I could give a big old hug to either of those cats before they tear me up?

Great shots again. Thanks for sharing.

 

[3Js]

Being new to this site, I didn't respond to your last thread. I didn't find the photos very good but every one else did. Same here but I'm thinking maybe I should ask you what it is you are trying to show. Maybe I just don't get you at all.

And, honest, I'm not into tearing apart people just for fun. We are here to learn.

 

[baturn]

Love the expression on the lion and eye contact on the last gorilla. Nice.

 

[mishele]

I want to give them a hug.

 

[BillM]

Love the pose in the last one !!!!!!

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, got a few more done - man I just went shutter happy today.

Being new to this site, I didn't respond to your last thread. I didn't find the photos very good but every one else did. Same here but I'm thinking maybe I should ask you what it is you are trying to show. Maybe I just don't get you at all.

And, honest, I'm not into tearing apart people just for fun. We are here to learn.

That's ok, I'm always open to criticism of a constructive nature, and I can always discard anything that doesn't apply.

From your reply your actual objection to the photos wasn't really clearly stated but my assumption is that your objection is based on subject matter by the way it was worded, if such is not the case by all means feel free to post a clarifying statement at some point. My impression is somehow you feel that all photographs should have some deeper meaning or story.

I think the best way to explain this then is to tell you about an encounter I had during this zoo walk. I had just finished my first shoot at the gorilla complex and headed for the concession stand for a soda. I saw a little boy who was probably about two interacting with a peacock. He was smiling and laughing and clapping his hands because the bird was coming right up to him and pecking lightly at his jacket.

The boy was thrilled of course, having such an up close and personal encounter with such a beautiful and exotic bird.

For me at least when I get the chance to observe and photograph these animals I get just a small measure of that myself. I get to feel at least in part that wonderment and joy that the little boy felt. I get to make that connection.

I doubt I'm alone in this, after all mankind has been depicting animals in one artistic form or another since we first started painting on the walls of caves.

So hopefully this wont seem overly blunt but when you tell me "I don't get it" my only response can be, really? What's not to get?

So I am sorry you didn't enjoy the photographs and naturally if you have any specific ideas on what might be improved I'm always open to suggestions. Other than that I will wish you well as I'm on my way back to the zoo for more as we speak.

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[TheNevadanStig]

One thing I was wondering, is to why you didn't go with a slower shutter in order to lower ISO? Maybe its just cause I'm a newbie, but I hate any picture I take over about 400 ISO, the noise just drives me crazy. And I know I can get good shots of birds in flight at about 1/640, so just wondering why you would elect to shoot a sitting gorilla or sleeping lion at 1/1000 or above?
Not criticism, I'm setting myself up to learn something here I believe

 

[Braineack]

I'd go to the national zoo but it was snowing again today...

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[robbins.photo]

One thing I was wondering, is to why you didn't go with a slower shutter in order to lower ISO? Maybe its just cause I'm a newbie, but I hate any picture I take over about 400 ISO, the noise just drives me crazy. And I know I can get good shots of birds in flight at about 1/640, so just wondering why you would elect to shoot a sitting gorilla or sleeping lion at 1/1000 or above?
Not criticism, I'm setting myself up to learn something here I believe

Well it depends on the camera and the person really as to how high you can get the ISO before noise gets so bad that it becomes "unacceptable". I don't mind a little noise overall, I don't pixel peep as a general rule so as long as it looks good on the screen I'm good with that. The higher shutter speeds allow me to stop action and eliminate motion blur and camera shake. Makes for a nice sharp photo, and I guess my thought is if you've got the available light why not. You'll notice the sleeping gorilla pic was shot at 100 ISO, so had plenty of light available.

A lot of these were shot more or less to allow me to test out some various combinations of shutter speed and ISO and to see what some of the best options would be in various conditions, I've been shooting in Av mode a lot and this trip was one of the first were I started using shutter priority quite a bit more.

 

[robbins.photo]

I'd go to the national zoo but it was snowing again today...

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Ugh.. weather just finally started getting decent here, beautiful day out there today. Bit windy but I was walking around without a jacket for the first time in months.

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Well I can definitely say your camera seems to handle ISO better than mine. Though does the glass have an effect on it at all as well?
I just find myself looking at shots on Flickr, and spending just as much time looking at EXIF data as much as the shot itself. I've found I get to learn a lot by putting myself in the pic, seeing how I would shoot it, then comparing the data shown. Here I get to ask why, so I learn even more