davedise
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Contest Finalist in Picturing Aquatic Animals Photo Contest
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mleskiw.wildlife_EC5E
April 26, 2020
Congrats on the top favourite shot Dave! Well deserved! Stunning!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This albino alligator is in the Wildlife World Zoo in Glendale Arizona and is very rare. The glass enclosure shows both above and below water level. I have visited it several times, but had never seen this pose and had to capture it. Usually he is above water level resting. But this day he was in a perfect pose. This guy in this pose reminds me of some Godzilla like monster in a horror movie.Time
This is inside, so the time of day was not important. The light was very low which made the shot difficult.Lighting
There was very little light and flash is not permitted. The settings were as follows: F5.6, 1/50, ISO 3200. I chose the most open FStop that did not blur any of the animal, the slowest shutter speed that I could hand hold and the highest ISO my camera allowed. I hoped the animal did not move and that I could post process the noise out from the high ISO. The focal length was set to 50mm.Equipment
I used my Canon 7D with the Canon EFS 15-85 wide angle zoom lens. I did not have a tripod and flash is not permitted.Inspiration
The pose caught my attention as soon as I entered the building and I immediately started thinking how I could set up to get the best angle and what settings to use under the lighting situation.Editing
I used Topaz Denoise to reduce the noise and PS 2019 to adjust exposure and tones.In my camera bag
I carry two Canon 7Ds; a Canon EFS 15-85 wide angel and a Canon EFS 70-300 zoom for general purpose outings. I will take my Sigma 150-500 telephoto for wildlife and a Canon 50mm macro for close up outings.Feedback
Even though the alligator could change its pose, I knew these creatures stay rather still most of the time, so I really thought this shot through because I knew it could be special but that the lighting was going to be a challenge to overcome.