Eagle Eyes
Apr, 2020Views
174
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Awards
Zenith Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Spring 21 Award
Legendary Award
2020 Choice Award
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taking at a local wildlife park. I started off with very few photos of animals but am now doing my best to visit as many wildlife parks as I can to build up an animal collection. It's a slow process but I'm getting there.Time
I think it was taken early afternoon but with a wildlife park you are limited to normal working day hours.Lighting
Shooting with the sun behind you allows for the subject to be well lit, but quite often you do not have the control over the lighting in these situations.Equipment
The photo was taken on a Nikon D810, ISO 100, Aperature f2.8, shutter 1/400th with a 70-200 set at 200mm.Inspiration
Seeing many photos of animals, the ones that grabbed me the most were the close ups which provide a huge impact and allows you to see a lot of animals close up and in detail that you would not normally see.Editing
Due to the distance away from the subject I had to crop heavily to get the required head crop. Although I focused as best I could on the eyes, shooting at full focal length and through a cage made it tricky, some sharpening in PS was required. The problem with large apertures is the small zone of focus they create, but this worked to my advantage to concentrate on the eyes. I've increased the shadow area to bring out details in the feathers, slightly boosted saturation and removed a fair bit of noise in the background.In my camera bag
It really depends on where I am going and if I have any photo I specifically intend to take. If I'm out walking I will usually take a 20mm wide angle for landscapes and a 70-200. I have recently bought a 28-300 lens so I can use as a general walkabout so I'm not having to carry a bag at all.Feedback
I would say that a long lens is definitely essential for animal shots at zoos and wildlife parks. Many places vary with how close you can get to the animals. This particular photo was taken of a bird in a large cage. I used a 200mm focal length but still had to crop to get a good size head shot. I used the smallest aperture I could (2.8) to blur as much as the cage wire as possible. If you can, stand as close to any cage wires so there are less wires to try and blur out. The further the subject is from the cage wires then the easier it is to blur out the wires.
