Your zoo is like ours and many....too many fences and obstacles..

Just glancing at them, my advice is to figure a way through them or around them and try and get as close to the subjects as possible. Try and take shots from their level too. Looking down on them may be all you can do, but perhaps you can get even with them in some areas..

I by no means have awesome shots as some here do, but every chance I go I try and add to my collection from our zoo. Trouble is the obstacles and people, etc...plus, I want to have a good time with my family. Balancing all that is key..

Keep going and enjoy the practice  .

Http://www.pbase.com/pdqgp/columbus_zoo_gallery.

TimColumbus, Ohiohttp://www.pbase.com/pdqgp..

Good start. I could not see your EXIF data, so I won't comment there. Obviously, it is difficult to meter and focus through a mesh fence. Many or most of the photos could be improved by cropping and adjusting levels in a PP program. Also, composition could be improved, especially with respect to location of subject relative to shade. Fill flash would have been helpful in a few instances if you were close enough for it to be effective.

You did a good job of avoiding blown highlights in pictures where sky is visible. In short, a good start but you, like me and many others on this forum, need to practice, practice, practice!.

Jerry..

Not many people will wade trough 130 zoo pics..

First impression, be more selective what you upload and stop using matrix metering in situations like that.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Thanx for the comments.

What lens are you using?..

Usually the 100-400L IS but I also carry my 24-70L with me too. Some of those were taken with a P&S Panasonic LZ5 and a Fuji F20 as well. I travel light  .

Stollen123 wrote:.

Thanx for the comments.

What lens are you using?.

TimColumbus, Ohiohttp://www.pbase.com/pdqgp..

Thanx for the info.

The photos are very good.

Do you use these L lense with your canon xti?..

I use a number of lenses on my 20D. I chose the L glass or higher end stuff for the two I use the most. in addition, I have a 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.8 both are very good and make for a very light wieght solution. Mainly use the 35mm inside and the 50mm for low light and portraits. I mix up what I shoot with based on my mood sometimes too..

You don't need L glass, but I do like the benefits it offers..

Stollen123 wrote:.

Thanx for the info.

The photos are very good.

Do you use these L lense with your canon xti?.

TimColumbus, Ohiohttp://www.pbase.com/pdqgp..

A few suggestions....

1. Be more selective in what you show / keep. You have some nice shots, but the set would have much more impact if you looked at all the tiger pics (for example) and just kept the best one or two and binned the rest. Less is more - be ruthless. I find that I might shoot a hundred pictures on a day out... and keep ten.



2. As you've probably noticed the autofocus has focussed on the fence quite often so the subject behind it is out of focus. This is a case where manual focus would be better; use the smallest aperture you can (e.g. use 1/125 at f11 rather than 1/1000 at f/4) to get a reasonable depth of field to compensate for any focussing errors..

3. The best pics are those where the subject fills the frame as much as possible, rather than being in the middle of a distracting mix of buildings, fences, shadows of peoples heads etc. The single easiest way to improve the pics is to (i) get close (not always possible with a tiger in a zoo, I realise!) - or (ii) crop the pictures or (iii) get a telephoto lens if you have the money and plan to take a lot of pics like this. However learning to compose a photo well with the lens you have is important. When you are not in a zoo, decide what the subject of your picture is (s it the person's face? or the building behind them?) and fill the frame with it..

You have 10MP and could easily expand the middle 50% of the pictures if necessary to 'zoom in' on the subject, still leaving enough pixels for a sharp A4 print..

4. It is difficult to meter accurately when you have areas of bright sunshine and deep shadows at the same time. Either the highlights will be bright white with no detail, or the shadows will be black with no detail. Paradoxically bright sunshine is hardest to get right; cloudy days are much easier..

How you handle this depends on which bit of the picture is most important. If you want a flamingo in the sun to be correctly exposed, take a meter reading off a bird's back (does your camera have spot metering which can look at a small area of the picture? if so, use it) Alternatively, get familiar with the exposure compensation dial - if the feathers are coming out bright white, you need to decrease the exposure, so dial in a compensation of -0.5, -1 stops etc. and shoot several pics to see which look best. The big advantage of digital is that you get instant feedback so take trial shots, at different exposues, check which ones look OK, and set the exposure compensation accordingly. (But don't forget to change it back when you move on)..

Keep at it and have fun!Mike..

Here are couple of funny pictures from LA zoo..

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window.

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window..

Mike, thank you very much for your practical info.

Mike703 wrote:.

A few suggestions....

1. Be more selective in what you show / keep. You have some niceshots, but the set would have much more impact if you looked at allthe tiger pics (for example) and just kept the best one or two andbinned the rest. Less is more - be ruthless. I find that I mightshoot a hundred pictures on a day out... and keep ten.



2. As you've probably noticed the autofocus has focussed on thefence quite often so the subject behind it is out of focus. Thisis a case where manual focus would be better; use the smallestaperture you can (e.g. use 1/125 at f11 rather than 1/1000 at f/4)to get a reasonable depth of field to compensate for any focussingerrors..

3. The best pics are those where the subject fills the frame asmuch as possible, rather than being in the middle of a distractingmix of buildings, fences, shadows of peoples heads etc. The singleeasiest way to improve the pics is to (i) get close (not alwayspossible with a tiger in a zoo, I realise!) - or (ii) crop thepictures or (iii) get a telephoto lens if you have the money andplan to take a lot of pics like this. However learning to composea photo well with the lens you have is important. When you are notin a zoo, decide what the subject of your picture is (s it theperson's face? or the building behind them?) and fill the framewith it..

You have 10MP and could easily expand the middle 50% of thepictures if necessary to 'zoom in' on the subject, still leavingenough pixels for a sharp A4 print..

4. It is difficult to meter accurately when you have areas ofbright sunshine and deep shadows at the same time. Either thehighlights will be bright white with no detail, or the shadows willbe black with no detail. Paradoxically bright sunshine is hardestto get right; cloudy days are much easier..

How you handle this depends on which bit of the picture is mostimportant. If you want a flamingo in the sun to be correctlyexposed, take a meter reading off a bird's back (does your camerahave spot metering which can look at a small area of the picture?if so, use it) Alternatively, get familiar with the exposurecompensation dial - if the feathers are coming out bright white,you need to decrease the exposure, so dial in a compensation of-0.5, -1 stops etc. and shoot several pics to see which look best.The big advantage of digital is that you get instant feedback sotake trial shots, at different exposues, check which ones look OK,and set the exposure compensation accordingly. (But don't forgetto change it back when you move on)..

Keep at it and have fun!Mike..

...had me falling off my chair laughing. Thanks for posting those!Mike..

IMO you've got the gear to make interesting pics..

Some other replies were about the technical aspects like metering, foucussing, etc..

Now it's your turn, which means : give the picture something of your own..

The pics you made are registrations. Nothing wrong with that, but they could be made by anybody..

I'm sure that there are details, angles, attitudes, anything that gets your attraction when looking at the animals and more. (there are many many interesting things in the zoo, not only animals but people too  )Now the question is, how to make a pic that is "yours"..

The moment you think "I'm going to make a picture", try to realize what's in your view that caught your eye. Is it the bird in the cage, or is it the colours of the bird, or is it it's beak ? Go as close as possible to the fence, take the pic focussed to the part of the bird that attracted you and make "your" picture. Once you've found out what your specific view is, the pics you make will be "yours" and no longer generic. Have a lot of fun shooting and practicing..

Cheers.Enjoying to try making better images again and again and .....

On the Mac versoin, with the file open, go to the File menu and select File Info..

That will give you the EXIF data, and more...