2 best shots from Australia Zoo this afternoon.

[AlexN]

I went to Australia Zoo today with my dad for a look and a few photos.. In all of my excitement, I forgot to bring the ISO up from 100 to 400 or so.. and this resulted in a lot of missed shots.. I cant believe I didn't think of it when i composed a shot and it said 1/30th ~ 1/15 etc.. I just didnt think to raise the ISO... Silly me...

Anyways, I did manage to get a couple of nice shots....

First one is of a brolga, 1/50th hand held 70mm f/4
Second is a Kookaburra, 1/100th 200mm f/4

Thanks for looking.

EDIT: The Kookaburra photo was taken through a bird net... It was manually focused because the camera was having trouble with seeing through the net... I was even more so impressed by the shot considering...

[RB (Andrew)]

Ah yes, ISO boo-booh's, LOL, don't yah just hate it........

These have come up nicely Alex, I like how you framed the kookie !

[AlexN]

Thanks Andrew.. Im going back next weekend with ISO set at 400...

Also - I think its good to note that I figured out a few things with the Canon AF system that had been hampering my shots... I think the brolga image really shows what the 70-200 F/4L is made of in comparision to yesterdays images that seemed a touch soft.

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by AlexN

I went to Australia Zoo today with my dad for a look and a few photos.. In all of my excitement, I forgot to bring the ISO up from 100 to 400 or so.. and this resulted in a lot of missed shots.. I cant believe I didn't think of it when i composed a shot and it said 1/30th ~ 1/15 etc.. I just didnt think to raise the ISO... Silly me...

Nice work Alex - the lighting is very eye-catching and LOL! Me too! There are so many switches and settings on these new fangled DSLR’s. What happened to the good old days of 35mm film with a fixed ISO rating, a match needle metering system and manual focus?

Now, I have to think;

• Do I want to change the ISO from Auto to a specific setting?
• Is the IS switched on?
• If yes, is it Mode 1 or Mode 2?
• If yes, is it 1.8m to ∞ to or 3.5m to ∞?
• Is the lens set to Manual Focus (MF) or Auto Focus (AF)?
• If AF, is it One Shot, AI Focus or AI Servo?
• What Mode Dial setting do I want?
• Which AF point am I using in the array?
• What Drive Mode do I want?
• What metering mode do I require, Evaluative, Partial, Spot or Centre Weighed?

Then, and only then, I am ready to take the photo, but wait, where has the subject gone?

Cheers

Dennis

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by Dennis

Nice work Alex - the lighting is very eye-catching and LOL! Me too! There are so many switches and settings on these new fangled DSLR’s. What happened to the good old days of 35mm film with a fixed ISO rating, a match needle metering system and manual focus?

Now, I have to think;

• Do I want to change the ISO from Auto to a specific setting?
• Is the IS switched on?
• If yes, is it Mode 1 or Mode 2?
• If yes, is it 1.8m to ∞ to or 3.5m to ∞?
• Is the lens set to Manual Focus (MF) or Auto Focus (AF)?
• If AF, is it One Shot, AI Focus or AI Servo?
• What Mode Dial setting do I want?
• Which AF point am I using in the array?
• What Drive Mode do I want?
• What metering mode do I require, Evaluative, Partial, Spot or Centre Weighed?

Then, and only then, I am ready to take the photo, but wait, where has the subject gone?

Cheers

Dennis

Ahhhhahahhahahahahaa!!! Spot on Dennis, Spot on!

[Bloodbean (Troy)]

Don't forget to check the white balance setting! I accidently went out shooting in Cloudy mode on a sunny day once.

Troy

[AlexN]

White balance isnt a big deal, Photoshop Camera Raw can correct that.. I shoot AWB all the time and adjust as necessary in PS afterwards.. .

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by Bloodbean

Don't forget to check the white balance setting! I accidently went out shooting in Cloudy mode on a sunny day once.

Troy

Ouch! Although even that is not fatal when you are shooting in RAW capture mode.

With shooting RAW, the only camera settings that have an affect on the captured pixels are ISO speed, shutter speed and aperture setting.

All other parameters such as white balance are under your control when you “render” the RAW image into an RGB image when using Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Camera Raw 4 (an Adobe “plug in”).

Cheers

Dennis

[AlexN]

oh my.. I found 2 more that came out ok... shooting the Tiger through dirty glass without a polarizer was difficult, as was having to beat my way through a sea of people whilst holding $1800 worth of camera+lens...

Im a fan of the elephant shot composure... Although they were hardly the highlight of the day, they do make for some interesting shots...

[Matty P (Matt)]

Lovely images Alex, they have come out great. Must have been a fun arvo snapping piccies of different animals.

I particularly like the one of the Tiger. It looks like you were right next to it.

Well done and post some more.

[AlexN]

I was less than 2 meters from the Tiger for that shot!

Thanks for the comments Matty.

[RB (Andrew)]

Wow, love the tiger and elephant shots Alex!

[AlexN]

thanks andrew. There is a bit of glare from the window apparent on the tiger shot, but the focus and coloring make up for it.. Beautiful animal to photograph. I tried to bribe one of the staff to take me inside the enclosure for 5 minutes after closing time to get a photo.. Offered him 500 cash if told me to take a hike.

[RB (Andrew)]

Nah not worth risking mate, live to shoot another day I always say.......

Anyway you can't really see the glare in your shot, it's a great shot, very natural.