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Behind The Lens
Location
Strange though it may sound, this fella was at a Butterfly Farm in Spain, along with a menagerie of birds, reptiles and a wallaby!?Time
This was taken in the early afternoon, and though it was inside a building, the light was natural daylight coming in through glass skylights.Lighting
See above - all natural light, no flash etc was used.Equipment
The camera is my new (to me) Sony a711 which is an amazing piece of kit. The lens was a Sony e-fit zoom lens 18-200mm.Inspiration
I was spoilt for choice for subjects and although it was mainly about the butterflies, the guy in this photo had such a superb face and I was able to get a close up when he/she was resting at the top of a man-made waterfall. And unlike the butterflies, he kept fairly still for some time.Editing
The only thing I have done is crop the photo to concentrate on the reptile's face, and some minor sharpening in Photoshop.In my camera bag
If I'm travelling, I now only carry the Sony body, the 18-200 zoom and also now the amazing Sony 90mm lens which is the best lens I have ever owned. I take a Sony flash as well, and about 4 spare batteries. This new camera is about two thirds the size and weight of a DSLR, and likewise the lenses are also smaller so it's a great bit of kit which is great to carry about and produces stunning detail (42 mpixels ).Feedback
I think for most people, the only opportunity to photograph an unusual animal like this is in a zoo or similar. But the great thing about that is, as I found in this Butterfly House, there are many great opportunities to photograph a variety of unusual and exotic beasts. Also, they tend not to be so shy as those in the wild, and, it's probably a lot safer too! Always take a good zoom lens because it is unlikely that you will be able to get up too close to potential subjects. Luckily for me, this reptile was not caged so there was no worry about shooting through bars and/or netting fences.