Comments on: Zoo Photography @ 300mm

By: Scranton Zoo

Scranton Zoo — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:46:19 +0000

Great post. I really enjoyed it. I will have to bookmark this site for later.

By: dnorman

dnorman — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:58:16 +0000

Thanks, Niran. Highlights are definitely blown because I accidentally shot with exposure comp. set waaaay too high. Once the data’s gone, it’s gone. RAW ain’t magic, although it sure helped rescue much of the image. This is pretty obvious in the White Handed Gibbon shot – the hair on its head is way blown out. Also, the highlights on the shoulder of the gorilla. Yikes. I minimized that by cranking up the Highlights adjustment, but that also shows some posterization. I learned my lesson, and will double/triple check to make sure exposure comp. isn’t accidentally adjusted.

By: Niran Sabanathan

Niran Sabanathan — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 05:21:23 +0000

Loved the face on view of the crane – great expression and the tigher crop worked. Enjoyed the prosimian shots as well. I liked underlying stillness and the threat of menance for the tiger, unfortunately the shiny log in the background distracts from the image. It looks like the hilights are blown so you might not be able to do any creative dodging – (can you get them back with some other RAW settings ?). Looks like I might be needing to upgrade the quality of my 70-300 mm.

By: Kari Quaas

Kari Quaas — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:15:11 +0000

Couldn’t agree more and this article is very timely. I was just at the Woodland Park Zoo yesterday, now wishing I had a 300mm lens, and RAW rules. I took many indoor shots of animals at as fast of a shutter speed as I could knowing that when I got home, I could get the extra exposure via Camera Raw.

Nothing infuriates me more than people trying to take pictures of animals through glass with flash. A) They’re not going to get a good image most likely and B) it simply disturbs the animal. Isn’t it enough that we’re gawking at them?

Beautiful animal shots! Thanks for sharing.

By: dnorman

dnorman — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:37:30 +0000

@davidicus: thanks! I was really surprised/impressed at how well some of the shots turned out – especially after rescuing them from overexposure.

By: davidicus

davidicus — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:18:38 +0000

sweet shots!
sweet shots!

By: dnorman

dnorman — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:48:44 +0000

@Dean: I don’t actually “know” that much – I just keep fiddling and practicing. Obviously, I’m still making huge mistakes (exposure compensation. doh) but it’s still fun messing around.

By: Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 04:32:09 +0000

You inspire me. Someday I’ll learn half of what you know.