Siberian Tigress and Her Mate at the San Francisco Zoo
Siberian Tigress and Her Mate at the San Francisco Zoo
Okay, I admit it, I am lazy. While my ego would love to be capturing exciting images out in the wild where these beautiful creatures exist, to tell you the truth, it is too much work. So I joined the San Francisco Zoo this year and now I look for zoos and animal parks as well as botanical gardens in the many cities I visit.
I have been spending a lot of weekends at the SF Zoo since I live so close to it. I live almost as close to the Oakland Zoo but the traffic on a weekend afternoon makes the trip back home unpleasant and long. At any rate, my intent is to take the Zoo out of the picture whenever possible. Other shots are included simply to provide a documentary image of that animal. It is not as easy as you think to get a great photo of an animal at the zoo. What if they don't come out. What if they just lay there. What if there are bars, fences, screens, or plexiglass between you and the animal? Or, it is in the shade at the back. So, you get the point. Here's a few suggestions for better photos at the zoo.
Use a 35mm or digital SLR with AutoFocus (AF) lenses. Mine are digital. I now use 2 Nikon D2X bodies.
Have a range of lenses from 28-400 ( I use four lenses, 28-70 AFS, 70-200 AFS VR, 80-400 AF VR, & 200-400 AFS VR )
Use an external, hot shoe mounted flash with TTL and Exposure Compensation
Carry a monopod or a tripod if you can't hold the camera still. With telephoto, slight movement causes blur. The VR (Vibration Reduction) Technology that Nikon uses really helps, especially on the 200-400. Other camera manufacturers have similar technology available. I am now using a Manfrotto monoipod that has the pistol grip lock/release on a telescoping shaft with a Bogen side-mounted pistol grip ball head.
Be patient, wait
for the animal to look at you. Don't harass them to do so. Okay, so when no
one is around, sometimes I try to make a sound like the animal's prey.
Gorillas are challenging because I haven't figured out how to make the sound
of a banana.
So far I have seen zoos in the following locations:
Melaka, Malaysia
Hong Kong, China
San Diego, California
San Francisco, California
Sacramento, California
Oakland, California
Seattle, Washington
Atlanta, Georgia
Columbia, South Carolina
Vancouver, Canada
San Diego, with both the Zoo and Wild Animal Park, is hands down the best place in the US to go. Now I did see part of a special about the Bronx Zoo and it looked impressive, so I hope to see it next summer.
Also, I have been taking lots of photos lately of birds in order to put together this new section for just birds. I was hoping to finish it before my mother passed away from a long illness, but alas, I missed by a day. And so, it is dedicated to my Mother. She loved birds and had a wonderful collection of ceramic birds, which I have inherited. They will soon be making their way across the country to my home in California.
You know, it has been a while since I added any content, so here is a new section:
And now, the Zoo:
African Lion
African Elephant
American River Otter
Arctic Fox
Black and White Ruffed Lemur
Black-Footed Cat
Chimpanzee
Coquerel's Sifaka
Cotton-Top Tamarin
Coyote
Dama Gazelle
Emperor Tamarin
Fishing Cat
Francois Langur
Giant Anteater
Goeldi's Monkey
Golden Lion Tamarin
Grant's Zebra
Greater Kudu
Grizzly Bear
Jaguar
Koala
Mandrill
Meerkat
Ocelot
Orangutan
Patas Monkey
Proboscis Monkey
Red Panda
Reticulated Giraffe
Ring-Tailed Lemur
Siamang
Siberian Tiger
Snow Leopard
Squirrel Monkey
Sumatran Tiger
Vervet
Western Lowland Gorilla
White-Handed Gibbon
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