Colchester Zoo trip

drunken fool · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:35

Well, having just taken delivery of a nice 24-135 IS USM lens (cheers Starscream

) i decided to take a trip to Colchester zoo today to see what i could snap. Have been away from the camera for sometime but now trying to get back into it again.

Shooting was difficult as most of the enclosures are glass fronted. Dirt on the glass combined with a bright sun and reflections meant some good shots were lost

All C & C apprieciated!

1.

2.

3.

drunken fool · 8 Jul 2007 at 20:37

4.

5.

6.

7.

themask70 · 8 Jul 2007 at 21:43

Really like them, my favourite has to be the third one, just looks great lol. My only problem would be of the one with the tiger, needs the levels putting up and a bit more saturation imo.

starscream · 8 Jul 2007 at 22:51

Some great pics there! Glad you're enjoying the lens

The misses is going to pop the other filter in the post for you tomorrow!

kkthxbye · 8 Jul 2007 at 23:30

wow at 6, would make a great background. n1

Richard T · 9 Jul 2007 at 08:16

love the tiger shot!

tis a great zoo

NorthstaNder · 9 Jul 2007 at 09:11

I like them all, but the Lion stands out for me. I like the slightly grainy look (not sure if it was deliberate!?) and the Lion also looks really, really grumpy!

4T5 · 9 Jul 2007 at 09:16

drunken fool said:
2.

Awesome shot :cool:

One More Solo · 9 Jul 2007 at 09:19

2 would be a great shot if you just tweak the colours a little bit, it's a bit dull and yellow.

drunken fool · 9 Jul 2007 at 21:01

thanks for all the comments guys

Of the 150 shots i took my favourite were number 2 and 6 so glad others like them as well.

Re the processing, i thought the colors were ok, but maybe that is my screen. Will have another play with them. What would people suggest?

SilverPenguin · 11 Jul 2007 at 23:31

drunken fool said:
Re the processing, i thought the colors were ok, but maybe that is my screen. Will have another play with them. What would people suggest?

There was a yellow cast, a quick tweak of the blue curve removed it. I then brightened and then boosted contrast a touch, added a small amount of saturation and sharpened up a little. Also tried to brighten the eyes slightly but that would be easier to do on the high res image.

Its not always easy in zoo's but I find getting any obvious signs of man made enclosure can kill a shot so be careful of that next time, also try for more catch lights in the eyes, without them animals can look 'stuffed'! Good stuff though, look forward to more.