Goldpanda94

Meek Meercat

This meek little meercat peers out at you from his log!

This meek little meercat peers out at you from his log!
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COOLPIX P530

settings

Aperture 48/10 ISO 800 Shutter 10/130 Focal Length 580/10

upload_date

Oct, 2019

Views

112

Likes

Awards

Top Shot Award 21

Spring 21 Award

Judge Favorite

9Teen Award

Peer Award

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank week 1

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Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo a few years ago when I visited the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago for the first time. It was my first time in Chicago and this park and zoo have so much to offer to visitors. Definitely a destination for any trip to the Windy City.

Time

This was in the middle of the afternoon. We had walked around Lincoln Park a bit before finally venturing into the Zoo. It was a nice, clear, sunny day and as we made our way through the exhibits we finally emerged in this smaller exhibit with the Meercats. I looked to my left as we crossed the walkway and saw this little guy peering out at us from his log. I remember one particular kid being loud and yelling at the time and I think that may have frightened the little Meercat resulting in the look you see in the picture.

Lighting

I wanted this photo to look natural so I didn't try to change the lighting or temperature of the photo at all with post processing. The lighting is how it naturally looks inside the Meercat exhibit.

Equipment

This was shot on a Nikon P530. Not what a lot of users on this site normally use but I like the zoom capability and it's not an expensive piece of equipment. Perfect to travel around with and not have to worry too much about.

Inspiration

The expression on the Meercat's face. One of the other visitors to the exhibit was screaming, as kids tend to do once in a while, and it was clearly having an effect on the Meercat chilling in the log. I brought my camera up and snapped the photo before he could run and hide in another spot in the exhibit. I also really liked how the Meercat was just peeking out from the log. A tiny safe space to see what was making all those screaming sounds.

Editing

Not a lot of post-processing was done to this photo. I increased the contrast a little to make the little Meercat stand out more aginst the shadow inside the log but that's about it. What you see in the picture is basically what I saw years ago at the Zoo.

In my camera bag

I usually bring my Nikon P530 around along with a mini tripod and that's about it. You can count an extra battery too I guess. I move around a lot when travelling and would rather not have to worry about a bunch of equipment. It's a simple camera that has served me well for a variety of occasions and locations.

Feedback

You can't control animals or their environments. You just have to sit and wait and have a certain amount of good luck as well. Sometimes you get lucky like I did and happen to glance over just at the right time for this shot. But other times you just have to be patient and wait for the perfect moment to strike!... or in this case shutter.

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Goldpanda94

Goldpanda94

Meek Meercat

This meek little meercat peers out at you from his log!

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Goldpanda94

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