occasionalclimber

Toothy Philipino

Philippine sailfin water dragon, Melbourne Zoo

Philippine sailfin water dragon, Melbourne Zoo
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NIKON D7000

settings

Aperture 53/10 ISO 500 Shutter 1/10 Focal Length 240/1

upload_date

Aug, 2016

Views

2211

Likes

+445

Awards

Contest Finalist in Reptiles Photo Contest

Featured

Peer Award

+337

Absolute Masterpiece

+31

Magnificent Capture

+21

Top Choice

+19

Superb Composition

+10

Outstanding Creativity

Superior Skill

All Star

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

Happy

Relaxed

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

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Behind The Lens

Location

In the reptile enclosure at Melbourne Zoo.

Time

Mid afternoon.

Lighting

The lighting was artificial soft light. The main challenge was getting an unimpeded shot with all the kids zipping about.

Equipment

A Nikon D7000 and 55-300 zoom. For this shot the zoom setting was 240mm, ISO 500, F5.3 and shutter 1/10 sec. I braced the camera against a wall to avoid camera shake on such a low speed.

Inspiration

This Philippine sailfin water dragon seemed to be quite aware of the human onlookers. He was giving me a sideways glance, which really made the shot.

Editing

Adjustments in Camera RAW to bring out detail in light and shadow, then some further minor polishing in PhotoShop.

In my camera bag

I love the mountains, so as little as possible - at present a Nikon D750 camera body, a Nikkor 24-120 small zoom and the 55-300 bigger zoom, a spare battery and beaten up lightweight tripod - good for hiking. If I'm going for a summit then it's even less - a compact Lumix TZ220 with mirrorless through the lens digital view finder, full manual operation and RAW file capture - absolutely great when you still want to control your photography but need to keep moving and can't afford to have stuff hanging off you.

Feedback

Nature photography is largely about patience, luck or both. Going to the zoo does make it easier though. A great place to practise and more than likely get some satisfaction for your efforts.

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Toothy Philipino