Off to the zoo, what to take?

[Danielle10]

Im going to Taronga Zoo on wednesday and aiming to take some awesome shots (I think if I have the intention of awesome it might happen )
Anyway, Im guessing i would take my 75-300mm to zoom right in on some animals as they are generally far away (arent they?)

Can anyone give me some suggestions, settings, ideas etc.
Muchly appreciated

[kiwi]

yip, take biggest zoom you can. If you are close to a fence get right up against it, take the hood off and choose a wide apperture

otherwise keep your shutter speed up

[Scotty72]

Im going to Taronga Zoo on wednesday and aiming to take some awesome shots (I think if I have the intention of awesome it might happen )
Anyway, Im guessing i would take my 75-300mm to zoom right in on some animals as they are generally far away (arent they?)

Can anyone give me some suggestions, settings, ideas etc.
Muchly appreciated

Yes, something long

Also, take something fast (if you have it) for those pics in the nocturnal section.

A circular polariser as you may have lots of big blue sky you need to tone down.

A monopod (esp to help in the low light situations)

Have fun.

Scotty


Here is the advantage of a longish lens - this little guy would let me get any closer.



I would not want to have gotten any closer to this lady


You want to get in to see the detail.



Here, a CPL may have helped to tone down the sky.

The fastest glass you can get is essential for these nocturnal guys.

Scotty

[fr33lanc3r]

Take a lens cloth and solution with you to rub off some of the smears on the glass. Will help you cut down on some of the reflections.

[macmich]

try to go on a cooler day
when its to hot a lot of the animals are hiding and looking for shade
good luck on your shots
cheers macca

[Xenedis]

Definitely take as long a focal length as you have.

I shot at 300mm and 600mm.

600mm is optimal, but 300mm will certainly land you some pleasing images.

My advice is to go for tight crops, be patient, and try to avoid harsh light (not often possible, but on my last trip it was an overcast day -- perfect lighting!).

Here are a few of my images from the last trip:


Profile of a Lioness


Photographed at 1:49pm on 27/12/2008 with a Canon EOS 5D at 300mm for 1/2500 sec at f/2.8 and ISO 640.


Red Panda


Photographed at 2:35pm on 27/12/2008 with a Canon EOS 5D at 600mm for 0.01 sec (1/100) at f/5.6 and ISO 400.


Brolga


Photographed at 11:08am on 27/12/2008 with a Canon EOS 5D at 300mm for 0.002 sec (1/640) at f/2.8 and ISO 100.


Meerkat Moment


Photographed at 2:21pm on 27/12/2008 with a Canon EOS 5D at 600mm for 0.002 sec (1/640) at f/5.6 and ISO 200.

[whizzbang]

How did you go at the zoo?
I went a couple of weeks, and only took the lens on teh camera at the time...... Totally regretted it afterwards.
I would defiantly say.. biggest zoom, lots of time and patience! Some animals hide/move when you really don't want them to.

[Danielle10]

wow, you guys are great, thankyou so much for the tips and examples... they are great shots.

Unfortunately we didnt go to the zoo this bloody weather scared us off, it was too wet. We went bowling instead and had lunch. Hopefully can get to the zoo soon.

[Xenedis]

Unfortunately we didnt go to the zoo this bloody weather scared us off, it was too wet.

I was lucky in that on the last visit, the day was overcast, meaning that the light was even and I didn't have to deal with the high dynamic range (ie, excessively bright highlights and excessively dark shadows) typical of sunny days.

The gloomy cloud we've had for much of this week would have provided optimal lighting conditions for zoo photography.

[Danielle10]

I was lucky in that on the last visit, the day was overcast, meaning that the light was even and I didn't have to deal with the high dynamic range (ie, excessively bright highlights and excessively dark shadows) typical of sunny days.

The gloomy cloud we've had for much of this week would have provided optimal lighting conditions for zoo photography.

Oh absolutely! But I was going with my dad and 4 and 6 year old sisters. We didn't think it would be good if it rained with them in tow.
I should arrange to go on my own lol


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[Xenedis]

Oh absolutely! But I was going with my dad and 4 and 6 year old sisters. We didn't think it would be good if it rained with them in tow.
I should arrange to go on my own lol

Ah yes, having young kids along certainly changes things.

Going on your own or with another photographer or two will be much more productive. :-)

[ErinJean]

its a shame you didnt get to go when you wanted too!
My husband and i are palnning a trip to the zoo ourselves, havent got a date yet, but we both really want to go...
I hope we get some amazing shoots like Xenedis and Scotty, they are fantastic.