Originally posted by Jim P Great expression on the giraffe. The squirrel looks as though it is about to tell a story. Very nice.
Thanks - yeah the giraffe was a hoot. I had a double take when he winked at me. When I saw the squirrel, I immediately thought of Rupert and Otis and had to capture him.
Originally posted by noelpolar Nice series!
Thank you!
Originally posted by wibbly some very enjoyable compositions. shooting at the zoos can make for some boring shots, but I really like these. well done
Yes, I agree; zoos are a mixed bag. I'm a big fan of the mantra that the elements excluded can be just as important as the elements included. I was hesitant to even process the cougar pic at first, but in the end the bars themselves were not detractors.
Originally posted by redpit Very nice shots! Well done!
Thank you sir!
Originally posted by PJ1 Great shots. That lens has some good reviews. Your shots confirm its abilities (and your abilities, too, of course!)
Indeed it does have some skill, as for my own - well you didn't see the other 300 shots that didn't make the cut.
Originally posted by robgski That is certainly a sharp lens, great close-ups, the detail is fantastic!
Yeah I'm looking forward to giving it a go on the K-1 whenever it finally gets released (and I have the wherewithal to buy it).
Originally posted by slowpez Looks like you got a great lens and know how to use it. Well done. You captured the eyes so well too.
Thanks! For each of these images there are usually 5-10 more with the eyes not quite there. I think more than the "eyes are a view to the soul" adage, the eyes are just naturally where I look when we see the animal in real life, and it just seems off-putting to my brain to see the focal point anywhere else.
Originally posted by Rupert Otis, legendary Art Critic, evaluated all your photos here and the best one by far was the handsome squirrel! His pick didn't really surprise me.
It got his approval!
He liked the other shots, but said you could have saved card space and time by just shooting the handsome squirrel and nothing else.
Regards!
Aw Rupert & Otis, thank you! I thought of you two when I first spied the handsome creature. I thought - a ha - I found Otis' long lost cousin at last, now he's here to tell us a story of how he got separated from his family, set sail in search for a better life, shipwrecked, picked up by an African Swallow and deposited in the White Sands desert in New Mexico, slogged through endless sand dunes, got his tail run over several times before successfully attaching himself to the undercarriage of a car on I-25, got lost in Albuquerque until receiving a telegram from Road Runner informing him of his wrong turn, and finally how he ended his journey with a successful career as a zoo squirrel - the ultimate life of luxury.
Originally posted by lesmore49 That first pix of the cougar behind bars ...excellent. Great series.
Thank you, I thought the "caged" gave a nice contrast to the "unpredictable & dangerous". I had the rest of the head in the shot, but liked the look of half the head - gave more of a "fear of the unknown, let your brain fill in the rest" vibe.
Originally posted by Kerrowdown A very sharp series of images indeed, well done.
Thank you sir. Now if only I could make it to the highlands of Scotland...that would be a treat indeed. Mayhap the Hound of the Baskervilles or even the Cù Sìth would make an appearance in the local zoo? I've met this beast sans cage, and survived to tell the tale (though he tried to eat my monopod...seriously):