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www.montbrae.smugmug.com
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Oct, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I decided to visit Australia Zoo to see if I could get a couple of good tiger shots. The zoo has a wonderful glassed-in area for these gorgeous creatures to lounge around in - they also have a swimming pool for them and this butts up against the undercover glassed viewing area. Perfect for taking photos I thought.Time
I wanted to photograph a swimming tiger and this meant I had to figure out the best camera position prior to the afternoon tiger show - clean the glass and plant my lens hood on it and hold my position against all comers - well that was the plan anyway. I knew this show was popular but, wow, was I caught by surprise. A huge crowd swept into the small undercover area right at the tiger pool at around 2.30pm - exactly where I wanted to photograph. I was jostled by the moving crowd while sweetly smiling children deviously pushed in front of me with their ice creams and drinks. I bravely held my position and waited patiently as the show proceeded - it was a real jungle! Disappointingly the water-loving tigers did not swim where I could get a good shot of them. I was about to give up when this tiger stopped, singled me out of the crowd and started staring at me and my lens - he then trotted resolutely up the alley way towards me - I swear he thought I was dinner. I snapped this shot of him at about 3pm.Lighting
I was shooting from under cover through glass with very average light conditions. I was not in a position to pick and choose angles or shoot where the best light was.Equipment
I hand-held my Nikon D3s camera with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens VR (II). The lens hood was held up against the glass. I forgot to remove the protective UV filter from the lens. Primarily I am a horse photographer and keep a UV filter on my lens at all times as stones, mud and such are flicked up by the horses. So I was shooting through two pieces of glass to get the shot. F-Stop f/3.5, 10/1600 shutter speed, ISO 1000 and focal length 185 mm.Inspiration
I just adore tigers - they are majestic and photogenic.Editing
I cropped, lightened and colour corrected the image.In my camera bag
I am a Nikon girl and have my two trusty Nikon cameras in my bag - a D3s and D750, plus my preferred zoom lenses - a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (II) and Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8. Plenty of memory cards, batteries and the usual bits and pieces.Feedback
Be patient, be adaptable and be quick with your trigger finger when photographing any animal. Remember, with animals things don't always go your way. If you have a specific plan of what you want and it doesn't work out - try to make the best of the situation and grab what shots you can. I have often been pleasantly surprised with the outcome of such situations. Most of all - keep taking lots of photos and love what you do - each photo shoot is a wonderful adventure and challenge - enjoy the ride!
