tdierikx

I need an Idiot's Guide to shooting with a fixed length macro lens... zoom I have a handle on just fine, but I have a feeling I'll need to use a completely different technique for macro with the 90mm lens... errr! We all have stuff we just can't seem to get to get to grips with... and it's really lovely to have some very helpful people here to point us in the right direction. I love taking pics of animals doing their thing, so zoom is a no-brainer for me - gives me some distance so I'm not intruding too much on my subject matter. I also like natural light, so I've kinda restricted myself to a specific set of conditions for the type of photography I like doing. But when it all comes together... it's happy dance time when checking out the pics on the big computer screen... *grin* T.

For some of the shots it looks like you needed more light, and maybe a tripod to hold the camera steady while it took the shot. Some of the focusing looks a little haphazard - how many focus points does your lens have, and have you tried dropping it to only 1 or 2 points so you can get better focus on what you are really wanting to, rather than what the lens thinks you want? That said, I actually really like the one that focuses nicely on the foreground streamers with the people out of focus in the background... *grin* I haven't done any courses myself, and am still deathly scared of taking my camera off the presets - so don't think I'm any sort of expert. What I have found is that when you have a type of photo you are really interested in doing lots of, practice, practice, practice is the only way to end up with any consistency. I use the Sports mode setting and continuous shooting mode - take enough pics in a burst and you'll more likely get 1 or 2 worth sharing... hehe! I like taking pics of animals - dogs, animals at the Zoo, birds in flight, etc - so I like shooting with a decent zoom lens in good light. I have well over 10,000 photos of various animals under my belt (possibly even more than that) - and a good number of them are complete shockers too. I only post the really good ones - so it makes me look a better photographer than I really am... honest! If it makes you feel any better, I take revolting indoor shots with my Canon 60D... mostly because it doesn't really interest me to take indoor shots or shots of people and I thusly haven't given it much practice. T.

All of the photos here have been shot on a Canon 60D with a Tamron 18-270mm lens. All shot in JPG and no editing apart from resizing and minor sharpening in Easy Thumbnails (does batch resizing very nicely). No individual attention has been paid to any of the pics here - they are essentially straight out of the camera. No cropping either - what you see is what the camera gave me. I have the camera on the Sports setting and basically just line up and let it focus, then just hold the button down so it takes multiple shots - almost guaranteed to get some good ones that way... *grin* - I've also worked plenty on panning with the action, so that if the target is moving I can capture it in decent focus still. Good lighting helps, and getting a position where you don't get glare or slimy fingersmears on the glass helps a LOT! Sometimes patience pays too - wait until you can get the position you need to get the shots you want. I took around 1200 pics on Saturday, and 1400 on Sunday - deleted around 300 completely crap ones from Saturday, and 500 from Sunday - leaving me with around 900 decent pics for each day... then I picked the ones I like the best to post here. As you will note, only 20-odd posted from each day... I only picked the best ones, and a couple that were not as good, but showed something interesting - like the koala jumping, and the turtles playing piggyback. Not much can be done about the fuzziness of the koala pic, but I've since fiddled around with the turtles one in DPP and reckon I could have made that better before posting by adjusting the brightness and contrast. I liked the Lion pics from the Saturday better than the Sunday ones - better position, and the Lions were more curious and coming up to the glass more. I got much better Tiger pics on Sunday though, and more of them too. The Giraffes were more interesting on Sunday, as were the Chimps - and as for the male Gorilla... what I wouldn't have done for a longer lens to get some close-ups of his eyes... he was telling a story there... I think I'll be going for the Canon 100-400mm lens after reading some reviews and seeing some photos shot with it on the same camera as mine... can't wait to get it and get back to the zoo... I have bought myself a Zoo Friends pass so I can now go as often as I like... *grin* T.

Probably shorter odds on finding a bat in yer daks... lol! T.

Hello handsome boy! T.

She's going to get a little bit of a shock when the puppies start coming then... hehe! T.

She looks like she's lapping up all the attention she's getting right now... lol! Has she had pups before, or is this her first litter? T.

... last lot... Enjoy!!! T.

... continued... ... one more lot coming...

OK - here are some of the best pics from Sunday's outing... ... more coming...

Someone had their fun - maybe not as fun for her right now... *giggle* T.

OMG... how cute was she?? for sure her babies are going to be just as cute... so we'll need LOTS of photos of them, OK? T.

I have a Canon 60D with a Tamron 18-270mm lens... although I'm also thinking of getting a 100-400mm lens - just to get that bit closer... *grin* Any recommendations for a lens in the 100-400mm range? The Sigma's seem to be fairly cheap compared to the other brands... would there be any specific reason for that? T.

I also bought a Zoo Friends yearly pass online this morning... Spring/Summer is coming and I think I'll be using it a lot... *grin* You poor buggers are going to be bombarded with regular Zoo pics now... T.

There are LOTS pesh... and that's where is gets very hard... must select only the better ones... *grin* I pruned all the really crap ones out - still have 950-ish pics to choose from! I've sorted them into folders of each main critter this morning - so should only have to sort out a select few from each type to share this evening when I get home from work. T.

A Whippet with a very full tummy... now there's a sight you don't see every day... *grin* Stunning girl - and I'm sure she's going to have stunning pups. T.

No crossbreeds or similar... *grin* Done. T.

I've just gone through 1400-odd photos from today... and there are definitely some OMG moments... *grin* At one point we thought we might see some giraffe nooky... I was almost afraid to take pics of the 2 lovebirds, but they spared us from the more intimate stuff... lol! I've got all the "staples", lions, tigers, gorillas, chimps, giraffes, elephants... and LOTS of each. It seriously going to take some time to select the very best/coolest ones - there are so MANY of them... but I promise it will be worth the wait until tomorrow evening... I'm completely shattered right now and really need to eat something then veg in front of the TV before I crash. I really need to get me a Zoo Friends pass, and a longer zoom lens (say something up to the 400 or 500mm mark? Sigma ones look like decent bang for the buck)... the shots I reckon I could get would be worth the spend methinks. I promise to post some of today's best shots tomorrow evening, OK? T.

Well... I DID go again today... *note to self: need to get a yearly pass if I'm gonna do this on a regular basis* Took around 1400 photos... errr! Almost as soon as I got to the zoo I got chatting with a lovely lady who goes there every weekend, and she took me around to a lot of the good spots for getting photos - we had a great time snapping away all day. She knew all the names of the Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, etc, and we also met up with a friend of hers that knew all of the Chimps off by heart too... I had the best Zoo day ever! Now all I have to do is go through all the photos and pick a few really nice ones to share... aarrgghh! T.

My shots were taken on a windy afternoon in full Auto mode... *grin* I suppose I didn't do too badly considering... lol! I'm pretty steady when hand holding the camera - you learn that when taking long zoom shots in lowish light... errr! I actually haven't pulled out the macro lens since that first attempt... kinda got sidetracked by going to the Zoo TWICE this weekend. Seriously, I'm thinking of getting the 100-400mm lens for Zoo work - will be able to get really good Chimp and Gorilla shots with one of those methinks. I will get back to the macro at some point, just gotta get me some inspiration first... T.

We have one that was adopted from us a few years back - and he comes to us for holidays when his mum does. He is an awesome little man, and I can fully understand the "Tibbie Tragic" syndrome... T.

Black dogs are very special... and they get only the very best owners... so that's why Smudge is getting less hits. Only the best people are looking at her... *grin* T.

OMG!! Isn't he such a handsome boy? T.

Run free Solo... T.

Fascinating shots CC... I'm scared of spiders, but your little lady is actually quite cute. Don't think I'd be getting that close to many spiders though... I'm a bit of a girlie when they start scuttling... T.