Pictures at the Zoo

[Mike Farley]

Some bird shots from the trip to London Zoo with David and Jay. I am not sure what either is, so perhaps someone can enlighten me.*

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* EDIT: Courtesy of Davidb I have added identifications to the captions.

[davidb]

The top one (looking to the left) is an Abdim's Stork; the lower one (looking right) is a Hammerkop.

I note that you've a very narrow depth of field and managed to avoid the netting of the enclosure behind the subjects. I was not so lucky but in some cases I might be able to crop a lot of it out.

The problem with taking pictures at a zoo (or similar venues) is the ankle ring. Admittedly, there are birds in the wild similarly tagged but you'd be very unlucky to photograph one of these. I suppose the rings could always be cloned out!

My pictures are in LightRoom but I've yet to start processing them. As soon as I have some results I'll post some images.

[Mike Farley]

Shots from the Butterfly World exhibit.

All images in these sets have been processed in Lightroom.

EDIT: Identifications added in the captions courtesy of Davidb.

[Mike Farley]

The top one (looking to the left) is an Abdim's Stork; the lower one (looking right) is a Hammerkop.

Thanks, David. I thought that I might be able to rely on you for the identification, although I had an idea that the second one is a Hammerkop. I'll update the captions in the original post.

I note that you've a very narrow depth of field and managed to avoid the netting of the enclosure behind the subjects. I was not so lucky but in some cases I might be able to crop a lot of it out.

I shot wide open at the long end of my 70-200 f/4 zoom lens which helped obscure the netting and was being as careful as I could to avoid obstrusive backgrounds.

The problem with taking pictures at a zoo (or similar venues) is the ankle ring. Admittedly, there are birds in the wild similarly tagged but you'd be very unlucky to photograph one of these. I suppose the rings could always be cloned out!

I had spotted the rings, but decided to leave them in. The images are described as zoo shots, after all. If any of these ever makes it to a more formal presentation, I might decide to remove the rings. That would very much depend on how I choose to use them, although obviously nothing here conforms to the new "wildlife" photography definition.

My pictures are in LightRoom but I've yet to start processing them. As soon as I have some results I'll post some images.

Looking forward to seeing them. Everything I am showing here is processed just in Lightroom, although some might require further work in Photoshop before final output.

[davidb]

Butterflies - I always have problems identifying them. LZ does have plaques showing the names of various butterflies but they don't seem to show all that's on display.

However, I think the first one is a Postman, the second is an Owl (I don't think that needs an explanation!) and the third is a Clipper.

They appear to very sharp in all the right places. I assume you were using your 100mm macro.

I've just started working on my photos - I don't think I'll be posting any butterflies, though

[Mike Farley]

Wet and dry, a Humboldt Penguin and meerkats. Thanks to a combination of David Attenborough and those adverts, even I can identify the latter.

[Mike Farley]

Butterflies - I always have problems identifying them. LZ does have plaques showing the names of various butterflies but they don't seem to show all that's on display.

However, I think the first one is a Postman, the second is an Owl (I don't think that needs an explanation!) and the third is a Clipper.

They appear to very sharp in all the right places. I assume you were using your 100mm macro.

Thanks for the butterfly ids - I'll update the captions for those as well.

Yes, all the shots were taken with the 100 macro. It is not stabilised, so I was having problems avoiding camera shake. Light levels were low, which did not help. It meant high ISOs and apertures not as small as I would have liked to optimise DOF. I should have taken a leaf out of Jay's book and taken a monopod along.

[Mike Farley]

This heron was not an exhibit, but an interloper no doubt attracted by the prospect of free fish when the nearby otters are fed. Slightly poor framing on my part when I cut off part of its foot, which will require some corrective work in PS.

[Mike Farley]

I have no idea who Chapman was, but here's his/her zebra. It seemed an ideal candidate for mono conversion.

[Mike Farley]

And finally here is one of the otters whose tea was in danger of being nicked by a marauding heron.