King Leo
Lion in reflective mood. Or sunbathing.Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
Lion in reflective mood. Or sunbathing.Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago
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Oct, 2011Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo. It was originally founded in 1868 with a pair of swans, making it both one of the oldest zoos in the United States and one of the few remaining free zoos. From 1944 until 1962, the zoo was directed by Marlin Perkins, who later became the host of the TV show, Wild Kingdom - a show I watched faithfully as a child. Lincoln Park Zoo has a lot of history, and while it may not be the most beautiful in the Chicago area, it has always been my favorite!Time
It was closer to the end of the day, as it was one of the last pictures I took before I left the park for the day- around 4:30 or 5:00 pmLighting
I just took advantage of the natural light. Since it was later in the day, the sun wasn't too bright so it was easier to get a good shot.Equipment
The only thing I used that day was my old point and shoot, Kodak Z8612IS, It has a built in 12x optical lens which gave a lot a flexibility. This picture used a focal length of 21mm and an F-stop of f/3.2. I didn't use a tripod or flash because of the abundance of natural light.Inspiration
I was showing an older friend around the zoo because, surprisingly, she'd never been. She really wanted to see the lions but only the females were out. I went back a few days later and just before I left, there was Adelor! I wanted to show her this lion with this great mane and it turned out very well. He died a few months later at an advanced age and I was really glad I took this picture of him.Editing
Adelor was pretty old and had gotten thin and the photo, as it was taken, shows his frailty. I cropped the picture so that the focus would be his magnificent head and mane and not the thinness of his body. The picture was color but i felt that the sepia pulled everything into balance so that he wouldn't be competing with the greenery behind him. Also, I felt it lent dignity to the picture. Lastly, there was a distracting branch, hated it. So I used Photoshop to clone two leaves to make it disappear!In my camera bag
Normally, I just have my Canon and a basic telephoto lens and a wide angle lens and a couple of batteries and memory cards. Also absolutely essential for me, bug spray!Feedback
Taking pictures of animals in the zoo, you have a captive audience, but I've since taken a lots of other pictures of birds, deer, rabbits - the regular things you may see in the "wilds" of Chicago. The key is just patience. Sometimes you see your subject but you just have to wait until they are doing something interesting .And with taking pictures of birds and other such animals that may be easily spooked, you need to move slowly and quietly to give them time to get used to you and hopefully forget you- take your time and be patient. I've been rewarded with some of the animals coming right up to me or allowing me to "make like a tree" and get close to them. Shoot often. The more you shoot, the more likely you will capture something unexpected or cool. Shoot at different times of day to capture different light and different animals and their habits.
