Gharial
Jul, 2014Views
4420
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Reptiles Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Depth In Nature Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Exotic Wildlife Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Zootography Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Wildlife in Black And White Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Adore Noir Volume 4 Photo Contest
Peer Award
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nandicmb
October 01, 2015
Congratulations on your Contest Finalist win in Zootography Photo Contest!
dennyzeigler
June 09, 2016
I am just outright jealous of this one! My lord that's an amazing shot!! Absolutely awesome, hats off to you!!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on a trip to the San Diego Zoo in California. I am a self taught photographer so every shot is a great new learning experience for me!Time
This photo was taken in July in the mid-afternoon sun. I remember that we had just left watching the tiger feed in it's exhibit. As we walked into the next exhibit to get out of the sun we came across the Gharials in their tank. The water was particularly smooth at the time and there was this Gharial just chilling out in the water almost begging to have it's picture taken. I had to get down on one knee to get eye level with the animal, but the uncomfortableness was worth it!Lighting
With it being mid-afternoon, I was really wanting to get out of the sun for a bit. The sun was providing great shadows in the exhibit however, which provided some great dramatic effect!Equipment
This photo was shot with a Canon 100d/rebel SL1 and a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS and nothing else.Inspiration
I have a passion for animal photography. However I am not able to often go to exotic places in the wild to capture animals in their natural habitat. A great zoo is one way I can capture beautiful animals on a budget. I was inspired to see what this animal would look like if we were eye to eye with it so I dropped to one knee to get on the same level and managed to capture this shot.Editing
There is some post processing done with Lightroom with this photo. I converted the image to black and white then raised the clarity to make sure the reflection would be noticeable. I raised the contrast a little for effect then added a bit of vignette as I didn’t like the tip of the nose to be as exposed as the eyes.In my camera bag
I am a photographer on a budget, so my equipment is all entry level. I make sure to have my 28mm and 85mm f/1.8 prime with me. These are great lenses with amazing sharpness. I also have my Canon 100d/Rebel SL1 which is a great small and lightweight camera. I have my Canon 55-250mm which is a pretty decent entry-level telephoto, and the Canon 10-18mm lens; which I find gives great images at times. I will also keep a Yongnuo flashgun with me in case a bit of off-camera light is needed. I feel that though good equipment is helpful for good images, it is the photographer that makes the shot overall!Feedback
Animals are rather unpredictable so an extreme amount of patients is required. I like to sing some songs in my head while waiting for that great shot. I keep my camera trained on the animal as much as possible to make sure I am ready. There are few things more frustrating than that perfect shot happening and you not being ready in that split second. I also try to predict the movements that the animals are going to make, though admittedly this is very difficult. When you capture that perfect shot though, the elated feeling you get is amazing, so keep at it!
