Like many, I have very mixed feelings about zoos and don’t often go. That said, I love watching animals and even more, trying to grab a few good shots of them. A special offer at South Lakes Wild Animal Park near Barrow, tempted me out on Sunday. It may not be quite the same as an African safari with David Attenborough, but it doesn’t have to be ‘photographically cheating’ either!

Graceful; one of the zoo’s giraffes.

By far my favourite among the animals would be the giraffes. Such beautiful gentle giants and wonderful to get close enough to be licked!

Looking sad; an’ indoor’ lion.

 

By contrast, this striking image of a majestic lion I find disturbing. I’m sure they are well cared for and prefer to spend more time inside in the winter, but it just doesn’t ‘feel’ right to me. My opportunities for photography here were very limited but I wanted a stark shot which had impact, helped by the ‘eye contact’.

Huddled together, a group of Ring Tailed Lemurs

 

Four (I think) lemurs looked adorable huddled together on a shelf in their enclosure.

Striking face, one of the many lemurs at the park.

Quite happy to mix with humans, these animals were great fun to watch.

The curious Brazillian Tapir

 

 

 

 

 

The motion blur adds to this ‘cheeky shot’ of an inquisitive Tapir, which has more than enough of a nose to sniff out an approaching photographer!

Andean Bear

I wanted to capture a nice close-up of one of the South American bears. Fortunately, they woke up from an afternoon nap and ventured outside for me.

White Stork

Prarie Dogs

 

I wanted to catch the rear lighting on this White Stork and to blur out the background as much as possible. A visible wire fence as a backdrop should be avoided at all cost! It was doing a nice impersonation of a Flamingo in the one-legged stance!

This pair of Prarie Dogs emerging from their burrow made a good pair for a photo and were happy to ‘pose’.

White Rhino

I wanted to show texture in this study of one of the park’s rhinos. Fortunately they tend to move quite slowly so it wasn’t that difficult.

Lastly, let’s end with a few of Steve’s top tips for some great zoo/safari park photos.

More Photographer’s Ramblings coming soon…

[box] – Pick a day with good lighting (bright overcast or hazy sun is best).

– Go when it’s not busy to get unobstructed views.

– Avoid fences or buildings in the background.

– Make sure you set your camera correctly, keep checking and stick to a faster shutter speed.

– Select your ‘subject’ and be patient! Wait for the best opportunity.

– Work with a smaller f-stop number on your lens and a good long lens to blur out the background.

– Go in close (the zoom not you!).

– The animal looking straight at the camera can make a striking shot.

– Try to capture a bit of the animal’s ‘personality’ if possible.[/box]