occasionalclimber

Penny for your thoughts

A contemplative Orangutan, Melbourne Zoo

A contemplative Orangutan, Melbourne Zoo
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NIKON D7000

settings

Aperture f/6.3 ISO 200 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 125/1

upload_date

Sep, 2016

Views

1489

Likes

+114

Awards

People's Choice in Orangutang Photo Challenge

Winner in Fine art wildlife photography Photo Challenge

Peer Award

+33

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Superb Composition

Superior Skill

Outstanding Creativity

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

Relaxed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

At Melbourne Zoo, at the Orangutan enclosure, through the viewing window.

Time

Early afternoon.

Lighting

Lighting wasn’t great. This guy’s face was in shadow and contrast between light and shadow quite harsh, but it did give that dramatic halo effect around sunlit edges.

Equipment

A Nikon D7000 with a new Nikkor 55-300 lens I had just purchased. For this shot the zoom setting was 187mm, ISO 200, F6.3 and shutter 1/160 sec, hand held.

Inspiration

I was trying out a new lens and this Orangutan was glancing in my direction every now and then. They are magnificent animals.

Editing

This shot was only possible using RAW, so that I had lots of room to move in the shadows back at my desk. This let me bring out his face and also, using an adjustment layer, back off the background so that emphasis on the face further increased.

In my camera bag

At present a Nikon D750 camera body, a Nikkor 24-120 small zoom and the 55-300 bigger zoom, a spare battery and beaten up lightweight tripod - good for hiking. If I'm going for a summit then it's less - a compact Nikon P7800 with mirrorless through the lens digital view finder, full manual operation and RAW file capture - absolutely great when you still want to control your photography but need to keep moving and can't afford to have stuff hanging off you.

Feedback

If not already, get familiar with RAW files and how you can work with them post shooting. RAW lets you take your photography to a whole new level, beyond documentation to artistic creation.

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occasionalclimber

occasionalclimber

Penny for your thoughts

A contemplative Orangutan, Melbourne Zoo

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow occasionalclimber

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