racoon-stare
Aug, 2015Views
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Top 20 rank week 1Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo of a Raccoon was taken at Dartmoor Zoological Park, Dartmoor, Devon, England. Benjamin Mee is the Director of Dartmoor Zoo and the author of 'We Bought A Zoo', the bestselling book that inspired the Hollywood movie of the same name starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. In 2006, the Mee family came across Dartmoor Wildlife Park, a dilapidated zoo with a poor reputation and in massive financial difficulty. Rather than running a mile, the family were struck by the fact that if a purchaser couldn't be found, the vast majority of the animals would have been destroyed. They went forwards, bought the zoo, saved the animals, and fought to get the zoo ready to re-open which it finally did in July 2007 under the new name of Dartmoor Zoological Park. It is situated in a beautiful part of Dartmoor countryside, where many of the animals can roam in freedom within fenced fields. It is an ideal place to photograph animals, in natural surroundings. I have been there a number of times and always been able to take great shots.Time
The shot was taken, early afternoon in a bright but overcast day. Ideal, as it gives a soft light and shows detail in the fur and in the shadows. Also the animals are more active than in bright sunny days, which also gives a harder light and dark shadows.Lighting
If you can it is a good thing to shoot in bright overcast days for the reasons above. Early light and late afternoon are the best time for many types of photography, rather than mid day top light , which gives poor modelling light.Equipment
I have used Nikon equipment for many years, as you get quality results and from my experience,they are very reliable. For many of the animal shots I will use an AF Nikkor 70-300 f4.5 zoom lens. To reduce any camera shake, I will have it on a Giottos monopod. Occasionally I will use a tripod, if need be. I may use fill flash sometimes but try to use natural light where possible.Inspiration
I enjoy taking animal photos, because of the detail, colour and character that can be captured by photography.Editing
Sometimes I do post processing to straighten, sharpen or increase colour, mainly on landscapes. This is done in Photoshop, but I try to keep it to a minimum as it is quite easy to make a photo look unnatural and false.In my camera bag
I use a Nikon D90 and D610 which I love as the D610 gives great latitude in being able to crop quite small areas of the photo and still maintain good detail. My favourite lenses are the Nikkor 70-300mm, Nikkor 28-105mm with macro facility and Nikkor 24mm, f2.8 wide angle. Also SB 27 flash gun and various filters including a neutral density set.Feedback
Wild life parks and zoos are good places to take photos of animals if that is what you like to take. Try getting to the animals at feeding time or just before as they will be more active then . Frame your shot and wait until the animal gets into a position that you are after. Patience is everything, for that unique shot.
