a turtle's way of life

[carolupus]

I've been a hobby photographer since quite some years now but more or less kept my work to myself until now. So now I'm really curious if it's actually any good and what things I can improve.
Constructive critics greatly appreciated! :)

[darkchild]

I like the first and third one of the turtle. Nice macro of the turtle head. the last one is a bit distracting with the glare of the tank. Nice work:)

[Nike]

Nice!

I like the first one as a portrait, but with the second one you've captured a great moment. There's so much movement and it doesn't only show 2 turtles, but it shows them interacting - I really like that.

Regarding the third one I'm with darkchild - clean the tank first! The eye is resting on the dried waterdrops and reflections before it finds the turtles.

keep shooting :)

[carolupus]

hey, thanks for the fast feedback!
about the third one: i know, and the dirty glass makes it even worse... is there anything I can do except photoshopping?

I've got two more photos for now:
another macro of Bea's head, without the rest of the body. I didn't like the bright parts of the bamboo ladder and her back in the previous pic so much...
and one photo I don't really know what to think of... I kinda like it, but then again... I'm just not sure. Can someone help, please?

[carolupus]

thanks Nike!
I know, the tank... that's a real problem, because the two are real dirtbags, nothing stays clean for more than a day. but I still like them :D
only had them for 3 weeks now...

[carolupus]

ok, no new turtle pics but some older photos of animals I found in the wilderness of Upper Austria:

[alicat08]

like the macro of the turtle...LOVE the bird in the water. Great work!

[darkchild]

Love that goose (it is a goose right?) in the water. It's just cropped with more water on the top and the animal looking into that direction that gives the photo some direction for me. Very good capture of the dragonfly. The new photo of your turtles head is good. Very nice detail and color. The second of the tank, I have no clue whats going on aside from the shell.... is that the turtles head at the top? Nice work:) Keep them coming!

[Grumbledook]

The second macro of the turtle is much better, the first one has blow highlights on the shell, though I would think it might be better with a slightly smaller aperture to get a bit more of the neck in focus

depends how still they pose for you though ;]

[carolupus]

thanks for all the compliments and advice! I really appreciate it as I always found it hard to get feedback ;)

the bird in the water is actually a cocky swan. I got bitten by a goose once as a child, since then I refuse taking pictures of them.
Taking pictures of my turtles is quite difficult actually because they move a lot when they should sit tight and they're totally motionless when they should swim around and do interesting stuff in my opinion, lol. anyway, that's why most of the photos I take of them are blurry.
The picture of the tank was a kind of experiment - longer exposure to capture their movements when they were still checking out their new home. The ghostly thing on top is one of the turtles swimming. I think it turned out interesting, but I'm not really content with it...

Yesterday I got 5 new fish, which are really beautiful in colour so I hope to get some cool new pics soon :)

[carolupus]

oh, and I didn't kill the pigeon, I just found it like that on the street...

[carolupus]

spying on a peacock's mating ritual ( he almost fell over when the wind was blowing):

[Gentile]

wow...those birds are so beautiful.

[darkchild]

Nice close up of the plummage!

[carolupus]

they are beautiful indeed! although that many feathers are really unpractical... and the lady wasn't even impressed!

[carolupus]

some new aquarium photos:

[carolupus]

I found some dogs today... it's fun to watch people going for walks with their dogs

[Nike]

the bird in the water is actually a cocky swan. I got bitten by a goose once as a child, since then I refuse taking pictures of them.


ouch! But swans can bite, too :D

I really like the picture with the dead dove for some reason. It's a bit overexposed, though, it would be nicer if you could see more details in the bird's head - I've played around a bit with it in photoshop, hope you don't mind:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/artofnike/IMG_0761_kl_bearbeitet.jpg

I really like the last of the peacock pictures - the close up of the feathers. Beautiful colors.

Regarding the fish - it's damn hard to get good fish fotos, but with a few tricks it works better:
Go as close to the glass as possible. If the lens is touching the glass, that's fine. This way you get rid of the reflections on the glass and of the dirt (like dried waterdrops) on the glass.
If the lens touches the glass it also helps you control shaking hands, which is quite a criterium when you do macros.
Fish that are moving quickly I usually photograph with a flash. The camera intern flash is a pain to work with, however. Often it helps to cover it with a tissue to get some more light, but not too much.
It just needs some practice :)
Nice fish. I never had Barben in my tanks, but they look really nice.
I had Ancistrus for more ten ten years, however, I had a male that grew to an almost 20 cm monster :D
I was really sad when this one died.

[carolupus]

yeah, i know, swans are mean creatures, too, but they're more beautiful ;)

mmh yeah, the dove pic... I took about 10 pictures with automatic mode - I wanted to do it quickly because there were people coming and I thought it kinda looks weird to take photos of dead doves - and they all turned out to be overexposed. the one I posted here is already a little photoshopped, but my problem is that I don't want the blood to get so dark. and in the end I just left it like that because somehow I like the contrast between such a sunny day and the end of a creature's life. thanks for your advice though!

and thanks A LOT for your tips about fish photography! that really helped! I found a site with really cool photos (http://www.aquarienfotografie.net/index.php), but most of them are shot with 2 or more flashes placed on top of the tank. and I don't have any external flash...
but I tried to get better pix with some more light from above and the built-in flash. I think they already look a little better, but there's still so much to improve! I need a better equipment (more lenses, flash...). I was afraid the fish would be disturbed by the flash but they don't seem to mind at all, so that's cool.

[purplerose]

Pretty nice photos. :) Just work a bit more in getting the sharpness.

[carolupus]

some shots of my bf's aquarium... I like all the plants in there - unfortunately I can't have any, or just for a few hours, because the turtles eat everything away in no time...

Corydoras paleatus
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0609_kl.jpg

male Guppy called Narziss
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0632_kl.jpg

yay - food! 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0640_kl.jpg

horny Guppy
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0662_kl.jpg

Epalzeorhynchos bicolor called Rambo
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0720_kl.jpg

yay - food! 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_0768_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

Bea and Amélie got a new sun deck and they seem to be happy about it - this is the first time I caught them together not being underwater.

Bea 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1239_kl.jpg

Bea('s back) 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1341_kl.jpg

Bea 03 (I love her so much :D)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1380_kl.jpg

Bea 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1424_kl.jpg

Amélie 01 (also wants to take a sunbath)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1482_kl.jpg

Amélie 02 (says, 'Hello Bea')
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1499_kl.jpg

Amélie & Bea ('we're making plans, and you're NOT part of it, harhar')
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1569_kl.jpg

Amélie 03 (goes diving again)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_1584_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

"yay - food! 02" has a really nice composition.

The new turtle pics are really nice. My faves are "Bea 01," "Bea('s back) 02" and "Bea 04:

In "Bea('s back) 02" I think you should crop out the reflection at the bottom.

[carolupus]

thanks!
all the advice from here really helps a lot!

hm, I really like reflections of all kinds, i think it fits in this picture. besides, i've got about 5 other photos like this one, and they're without the reflection ;)

[carolupus]

found some bugs!

bug 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_2166_kl.jpg

bug 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_2335_kl.jpg

[darkchild]

Very nice aquarium captures. The second batch was a lot sharper than the first. I love the turtles:) Especially Bea 01. Very nice framing on that one.

[purplerose]

"bug 02" has a nice play with shadows to create an interesting composition.

"bug 01" may need some play with cropping to cut back on the abundance of empty space.

Very nice exposure on both of them though.

[carolupus]

I took some new pictures of my turtles, but i'm not sure if I should post them here because they're quite brutal... the two little murderers chased a sick fish through the whole aquarium, killed and ate it in the end.
I was quite shocked when I looked at the photos I took on my computer afterwards. while I took them I was mostly excited to be able to take photos of such a rare event, but afterwards I almost felt bad for the little fish - nature can be quite cruel...
so the photos might be shocking for people here, but imo they turned out really well, because I think I managed to take Nike's and purplerose's advice into account this time.
What to do? Do you want to see cruel pictures?

[purplerose]

At the end of the day, it's your thread. Post them if you'd like. :)

[carolupus]

ok. no one has to look at them after all...
although I'd be glad if you did to tell me which one you like best. or which one could use further or different post-processing.
I won't be able to re-take them anytime soon though, hope that was the only sick fish in my aquarium.

fish chase 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_2974_kl.jpg

fish chase 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_2989_kl.jpg

fish chase 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_2992_kl.jpg

fish chase 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3026_kl.jpg

fish chase 05
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3042_kl.jpg

fish chase 06
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3057_kl.jpg

fish chase 07
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3063_kl.jpg

[Nike]

It's always sad to have sick fish or to watch something like that. Poor little cory - on the other hand, if it was sick, then that was probably a rather quick death compared to the longer suffering it might have gone through if it hadn't been murdered.

I think the quality of your fish tank pictures has much improved. The last batch turned out really well, even more, concidering the fact, that there must have been chaotic amount of movement and you obviously reacted really quickly :)
My favourites are 3, 4, and 7. 2 would be great, if the cory wouldn't be cropped. In 1, the green tube is covering a part of the turtle's head, which I don't like that much, also in 6 the technique (green tube and ?ausströmer?) are disturbing (the pose, on the other hand. is great with the wide open mouth).
My favourite of them all is 4, I think. I think think this has a huge potential for refining (maybe a little bit more contrast?).

Good work, keep it up! :)

[purplerose]

Nike said it all! :)

Stand outs for me are 3 & 4. Have a bit of the "Jaws" feeling to them.

[darkchild]

Nice action shots of the fish chase/eating.... Poor fish. Oh well such is the struggle of life for animals. They must've been hungry!

[carolupus]

thanks for the comments! I've recovered from the shock and gone on taking photos of my little bastards with my new lens, a Tamron 55-200mm. it's cool how I close I get to them without disturbing them with it :)

as you can see, they are always hungry, but have settled for eating food I give them for a while...

'normal' food 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3304_1_kl.jpg

'normal' food 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3306_1_kl.jpg

'normal' food 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3308_1_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

Really nice lighting in all of these. :)

[carolupus]

thanks, purplerose!

found some cats on my walk through the city, one looking quite miserable :p

cat 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_4047_kl.jpg

cat 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_4050_kl.jpg

cat 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_4046_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

"cat 01" makes me laugh... it looks grumpy. :)

[carolupus]

some of Linz' pigeons (there are too many)

pigeon 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_5301_kl.jpg

pigeon 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_5432_kl.jpg

pigeon 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_5454_kl.jpg

pigeon 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_5474_kl.jpg

pigeon 05
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_5519_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

actually when I moved into my flat I wanted to get a cat as a pet. but as it happens I ended up with two little turtle-bastards ;) I wonder if a cat would be nice to them... and if they'd be nice to the cat...

courtship behaviour 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5849_kl.jpg

courtship behaviour 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5852_kl.jpg

courtship behaviour was not successful...
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5859_kl.jpg

...because Bea is too sleepy (or a male turtle her/himself, dunno yet)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5862_kl.jpg

yawn
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5873_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

!!!! I love the last pigeon photo! :) So beautiful. The third one is nice as well.

"yawn" is very classic..... and funny!

[carolupus]

thanks, purplerose! :)

Bea is definitely male now, (s)he has a penis, so is called Aeb from now on.
And Amélie is another kind of turtle, that's why some of her (?) habits are different from Aeb's. which means they have quite some disagreements...

anyway, some new photos:

Aeb
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_5988.jpg

cheeky fish
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_6301_kl.jpg

Amélie
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_6385_kl.jpg

disagreement 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_6974_kl.jpg

disagreement 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_6995_kl.jpg

humanized food intake
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_7081_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

from the trip to the fairground... I just feel much more comfortable taking photos of animals and nature than of people...

ducks 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7285_kl.jpg

ducks 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7288_kl.jpg

ducks 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7298_kl.jpg

ducks 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7335_kl.jpg

ducks 05
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7346_kl.jpg

ducks 06
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7385_kl.jpg

ducks 07
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7397_kl.jpg

ducks 08
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7401_kl.jpg

ducks 09
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7419_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

and 2 new fish photos..

oxygen
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_6721.jpg

a worm is a worm.. is a worm in a fish
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_7045_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

Bea is definitely male now, (s)he has a penis, so is called Aeb from now on.

LOL :D

Awesome captures in ducks 5 & 8. Looks like you got #5 mid-step/jump/hop (whatever it is that ducks do)?

I'm not a big fan of partially destaurated photos, but "Oxygen" is awesome. :)

[carolupus]

thanks, purplerose! secretly I called duck nr 5 the 'flying duckman' ;)

dead bee I found in my pants - no kidding! and it didn't sting me..
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/IMG_7843_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

turtle food 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtle%20food/IMG_8362_kl.jpg

turtle food 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtle%20food/IMG_8365_kl.jpg

turtle food 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtle%20food/IMG_8369_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

turtle feed 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8501_kl.jpg

turtle feed 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8504_kl.jpg

turtle feed 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8531_kl.jpg

turtle feed 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8534_kl.jpg

turtle feed 05 /crazy fish trying to eat worms 3 times their size
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8538_kl.jpg

turtle feed 06 / Aeb smoking worm cigar
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8541_kl.jpg

turtle feed 07
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_8543_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

turtle food 02 is really nice. Looks like it would look it would be awesome as a layout in an advertisement or something.

[Nike]

I like turtlefeed 3 a lot, too. I think editing these a bit more - stamping the little sratches on the glass away and maybe increasing contrast a bit - would make this a really great picture! :)

I also like 05 a lot with the fish moving and the worm sharp - very interesting atmosphere.

[carolupus]

thanks, you two!
I know, the scratches... I should edit them out in the better photos, you're right. I hope to get a new tank soon though, a fresh one without scratches (the one I have now was a used one, but for free including the turtles and some fish)

Aeb and Amélie managed to eat five of my favourite fish while I was gone for a night. Apparently something was wrong with the water after I changed about two thirds of it and they had a hard time breathing alas were an easy catch for them :(
Made me really sad and I hope that won't happen again. I gave some of the fish away today to have more space/oxygen and less dangers for the small fish.

[carolupus]

Be prepared for a huge amount of animal photos!
We were at the zoo yesterday and I managed to shoot 6 gb...

Here comes the first batch - parrots:

zoo 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9958_kl.jpg

zoo 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9960_kl.jpg

zoo 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9967_kl.jpg

zoo 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9975_kl.jpg

zoo 05
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9981_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

zoo number two - monkeys:

zoo 06
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0032_kl.jpg

zoo 07
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0033_kl.jpg

zoo 08
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0036_kl.jpg

zoo 09
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0039_kl.jpg

zoo 10
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0053_kl.jpg

zoo 11
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0058_kl.jpg

zoo 12 (I know, it's absolutely nowhere in any way sharp, but I'd like to keep it anyway and call it 'King Kong')
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0307_kl.jpg

zoo 13
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0346_kl.jpg

zoo 14
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0496_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

soon to come: giraffes, a whole variety of birds and other animals with fur I don't know the names of...

[darkchild]

LOL, Cat 01 looks PO'd!!! Nice capture with Pigeon 05, very nice subtle colors on the feathers. Very cute duck photos. I totally agree with you on the animal photos vs human photos. I'm not comfortable at all taking pictures of people without their knowledge... I feel like I'm stalking them:)

[carolupus]

thanks, darkchild!

as promised, batch number 3 - the giraffes:

zoo 15
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0078_kl.jpg

zoo 16
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0084_kl.jpg

zoo 17
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0090_kl.jpg

zoo 18
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0107_kl.jpg

zoo 19
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0144_kl.jpg

zoo 20
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0162_kl.jpg

zoo 21
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0188_kl.jpg

zoo 22
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0845_kl.jpg

zoo 23
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0846_kl.jpg

zoo 24
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0847_kl.jpg

zoo 25
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0850_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

I dont care for walkin downtown
Crazy auto-car gonna mow me down
Look at all the people like cows in a herd
Well, I like
Birds

from the song 'I Like Birds' by Eels




so here comes the bird part from the zoo trip...

I know it's a lot but I still appreciate every comment!

zoo 26
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0014_kl.jpg

zoo 27
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0016_kl.jpg

zoo 28
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0196_kl.jpg

zoo 29
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0197_kl.jpg

zoo 30
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0202_kl.jpg

zoo 31
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0230_kl.jpg

zoo 32
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0244_kl.jpg

zoo 33
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0247_kl.jpg

zoo 34
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0257_kl.jpg

zoo 35
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0270_kl.jpg

zoo 36
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0282_kl.jpg

zoo 37
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0289_kl.jpg

zoo 38
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0392_kl.jpg

zoo 39
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0420_kl.jpg

zoo 40
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0427_kl.jpg

zoo 41
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0484_kl.jpg

zoo 42
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0555_kl.jpg

zoo 43
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0574_kl.jpg

zoo 44
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0597_kl.jpg

zoo 45
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0606_kl.jpg

zoo 46
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0608_kl.jpg

zoo 47
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0611_kl.jpg

zoo 48
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0618_kl.jpg

zoo 49
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0822_kl.jpg

zoo 50
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0824_kl.jpg

zoo 51
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0828_kl.jpg

zoo 52
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0830_kl.jpg

zoo 53
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0837_kl.jpg

zoo 54
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0859_kl.jpg

zoo 55
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9925_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

and here comes the last part of my trip to the zoo: the animals I cannot name.
I'm sorry it's such a lot but I was having a hard time choosing which ones to leave away..erm...
well, to anyone with enough bandwidth and time to look at my photos: please criticize!

zoo 56
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0407_kl.jpg

zoo 57
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0411_kl.jpg

zoo 58
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0698_kl.jpg

zoo 59
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0718_kl.jpg

zoo 60
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_0722_kl.jpg

zoo 61
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/080512_zoo%20schmiding/IMG_9920_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

Nice zoo update, you nearly killed my slow connection! :) Standouts for me from the last three zoo posts are #18, 23, 26, 27, 30, 44 & 58-60.

I think one of the most important things to remember about zoo photography is to make it look like it wasn't taken at a zoo. You want to try to make people who don't like photos of captive animals like your photos as well as try to separate yourself from the numerous people who visit and take snapshots. If you keep the human factor, I think the best thing is to make it a conceptual photo. I think I want to go to the zoo now. :)

[carolupus]

yeah, sorry for the lot of photos... but thanks for looking at them anyway!
I wanted to have some people in the photos, because I thought the 'relationship' between zoo animals and zoo visitors is quite an interesting one. From teenage boys banging onto the glass of the monkeys' cage, small children being too afraid to feed the giraffe to a monkey stealing a child's soother (I wished I had that on photo..) you can see pretty much anything.

I'll have to return there someday because I didn't manage to get any decent shots of the aquazoo.
they had sharks, 'nemos', piranhas and whatnot, but there was just so little light and way too many people for a tripod...
how did you do that with your underwater photos?

[carolupus]

a different turtle pic:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/turtles/IMG_3318_kl.jpg

[carolupus]

yay, I finally got a macro lens!
see my aquarium through it:

aq 01
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_4608_kl.jpg

aq 02
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_4653_kl.jpg

aq 03
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_4664_kl.jpg

aq 04
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_4795_kl.jpg

aq 05
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y105/carolupus/Canon%20EOS%20350D%20era/des%20animaux/aquarium/IMG_4811_kl.jpg

[purplerose]

Really nice work in the first and last macro aquarium shots. :)

For my aquarium photos, I used ISOs set at 400 and higher, slow shutter speeds, a very steady hand, playing around with white balance settings and a bit of luck.