Animals

Here are a few pictures I took at Chester Zoo last week. Enjoy

Nice shots Jack - I miss Chester Zoo.

The snakes are cool - nice dof and great colour.

The deer thingy is nice - again like the dof - head & face are nice and sharp.

The Zebra is probably my favourite. They make great subjects.

The rhino shot - Nothing wrong with it but the wall doesn't really help. How old is the baby do you know ?

The last one - Meerkat ? - That's what happens to 90% of my dog shots if I'm using a wide aperture for shallow dof - I get sharp noses and not so sharp eyes.

Nice shots J - I like them all except for the 1st one.

And that baby rhino looks tiny!

Thats a lovely set JR. I do like the Sitatunga fawn they are most pretty! I saw them at Chester when I went a few weeks ago, dont recall seeing the baby Rhino though. Love the second Snake shot too, smart!

Thanks for your comments. I have to say I do like Chester Zoo - I'd love to spend much more time there with the camera.

Phil - apparently 31 Oct 08 the baby Black Rhino was born. The 1st for over 10 years. I was lucky to get the snap as the Rhinos didn't leave their house for too long - and didn't move away from the safety of the wall unfortunately.

I also agree with your comments about facial acuity when shooting at distance with such a narrow DOF - I have some more Meerkat pictures; I'll see if I have a better image.

I wouldnt leave the zoo until I'd photographed the zebras - they are one of my favourite creatures.

Dawn - thanks for naming the type of antelope/deer? for me - I was racking my brain somewhat unsuccessfully lol. Next time I'm in the UK maybe a few of us could meet up at the zoo, or elsewhere, for a YOP field trip?

Thanks for your comments. I have to say I do like Chester Zoo - I'd love to spend much more time there with the camera.

Phil - apparently the baby Black Rhino was born to six year old mum Ema at 2.45am on Friday May 15 following a 15 month pregnancy, the calf is female and will be given an African name. The calf’s father is 10-year-old Magadi. I was lucky to get the snap as the Rhinos didn't leave their house for too long - and didn't move away from the safety of the wall unfortunately.

I also agree with your comments about facial acuity when shooting at distance with such a narrow DOF - I have some more Meerkat pictures; I'll see if I have a better image.

I wouldnt leave the zoo until I'd photographed the zebras - they are one of my favourite creatures.

Dawn - thanks for naming the type of antelope/deer? for me - I was racking my brain somewhat unsuccessfully lol. Next time I'm in the UK maybe a few of us could meet up at the zoo, or elsewhere, for a YOP field trip?

they are great jack ! i love the fluffy bambi!

Just a month or so old then. Wow.

I think they're amazing animals. You probably know this but I recently learned that unlike the 'pointy' lipped 'black' rhino, the white rhino is called 'white' not because of it's colour but because of it's wide square-lipped mouth after the Afrikaans word "wit" meaning wide.

Yes JR, meet up sounds great!

I do like the shot of the Sitatunga (?), the DOF has been used effectively there.

The second snake shot is the better of the two, the first has noticable motion blur which spoils the shot (for me). I would have liked to see a greater DoF on the Meerkat too, so that the eyes are in focus.

As others have said, it is a shame about the background of the Rhino, not much you could do about that though.

A field trip sounds like a good idea