Nothing like a trip to the zoo to recover: After a couple of less than successful trips to the local FWA (fish and wildlife area), I was able to get to the INDY zoo over the weekend.

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Nothing like a trip to the zoo to recover

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Oct 14, 2018 13:57:41 #

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

After a couple of less than successful trips to the local FWA (fish and wildlife area), I was able to get to the INDY zoo over the weekend. Yes, the animals were artificially close and captive, but it was good to practice some spot shooting (I panned and shot for practice), some composition (make sure you don't have any obvious man made objects in the picture), and some DOF practice (if you are stuck with man-made background, can you make the DOF shallow enough to make it hide in a soft "bokeh" background?).

I realize that the confinement of subject matter may be a topic of derision with some. My thoughts were that it was a great place to practice, and it turned into a great afternoon that gave me many opportunities to experiment with all kinds of camera variables that allowed for a great learning experience.

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Not a zoo animal, but rather urban wildlife hahaha

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Oct 14, 2018 14:03:43 #

jayd Loc: Central Florida, East coast

Nice

Oct 14, 2018 14:15:35 #

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Beautiful bird shots.

Oct 14, 2018 14:16:33 #

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The Indianapolis Zoo is a wonderful zoo with a variety of animals and many close for viewing, although the glass can present challenges. I've had the flamingos come over and peck at my lens. Good to see the Rainbow lorikeets are still out. Nice job.

Oct 14, 2018 14:21:40 #

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

CHG_CANON wrote:

It IS a nice zoo. Funny though, the Evansville zoo (home for me) is actually a better zoo relative to photography in my opinion. Much less glass, and the newer exhibits do a much better job of imitating a more natural habitat.

I was in INDY and had a few hours of free time. My choice was the zoo or going to Roberts Camera and succumbing to GAS with one of the Nikon 200-500 5.6 that they have two really nice used copies of.... No buyers remorse today, but still a fairly significant case of GAS!!

Thanks for the comments

Oct 14, 2018 14:35:22 #

Frayud Loc: Bethesda,MD

I am not criticizing the artistry but to my eye nothing appears to be sharp. What lens was used? What shutter speed?

Oct 14, 2018 14:41:32 #

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nice. That guy with the long bill reminds me of Danny DeVito playing The Penguin.

Oct 14, 2018 14:41:42 #

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

I loaded the originals, you should be able to get exif data from that. Nothing sharp? HMMM does anyone else see this? I saw all but the last one extremely sharp.

Oct 14, 2018 17:14:18 #

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

swartfort wrote:

I loaded the originals, you should be able to get exif data from that. Nothing sharp? HMMM does anyone else see this? I saw all but the last one extremely sharp.

All in all a nice set of photos. They looked fine to me. Saw EXIF data also. #3 & #6 seem soft only when you go peeping. Even then it is so slight that it is inconsequential to the look.
As to Frayud’s comment, I hope not to offend, but it could be his viewing screen or some other physical limitation causing him to see that blur. Checking on some of his posts I find him saying he is 85 and many of his critiques mention sharpness. We all see things differently on our computers and the screen settings are not always perfect. It could also just be the age of his monitor that causes him to see it out of focus.

Oct 14, 2018 17:16:19 #

swartfort Loc: Evansville, IN

jerryc41 wrote:

Nice. That guy with the long bill reminds me of Danny DeVito playing The Penguin.

I thought he reminded me of the old cartoon character from Spy vs. Spy from the old Mad Magazine!!!