I have this great photo of a tiger, but I didn't have to go on a safari to get it – it was as close by as the local zoo. Many cities have large, well-managed zoos and aquariums, and if you happen to be vacationing somewhere that has such a facility, it's well worth putting on your must-photograph list.
Photographing animals at the zoo can sometimes be disappointing if the kept subjects are mere shadows of their wild glory. I remember seeing polar bears in one zoo that were mangy and well past their prime. And many specimens do not do well in captivity, putting a hauntingly sad face to the term "caged beast." However, other animals can be lively and seem to thrive in their artificial environment.
Beyond the subjects themselves, photographing subjects at zoos and aquariums can hold other challenges. Often cages are made of glass or clear polycarbonate, and it's difficult to capture an animal without also getting glare and reflections. This is also a major problem with photographing marine life at an aquarium. Cages with bars or wire mesh are often worse because you can't find a better shooting angle as you might be able to do with a glass enclosure. The glass or mesh can also fool the autofocus system in a camera, so if you are not mindful of this, you might end up with a memory card full of out of focus photos.
Lighting can also be a challenge. Indoor pavilions often use subdued lighting, and using a flash may not be viable, so you need to figure out a way to steady the camera for a long exposure – and also pray your subject does not move. With a tankful of fish, it's impossible to use a long exposure and not get blurred fish.
Many of the advances in digital camera technology can help you take betters photos at the zoo or aquarium. High sensitivity (aka high ISO) settings allow you to use a faster shutter speed under low light conditions, and often this is the ticket for getting crisp shots of furry critters when in indoor pavilions. Mechanical anti-shake technology, either applied to the lens or the sensor components, can also reduce blurring caused by camera shake at low shutter speed. Anti-shake technology can also be helpful if you are some distance away from your subject and need to use an extreme telephoto setting – if you are far away from the dolphin show at an aquarium, for example. But if you happen to get ringside seats at the dolphin pool, another feature you might want is waterproofing. Some point and shoot cameras, notably models from Pentax and Olympus , will withstand some splashing and even a dunking, but you can also purchase waterproof skins at a reasonable price for several popular camera models.
One feature I've used often at the zoo is an articulated view screen. One primate cage I visited had a small mesh barrier at eye level – impossible to get a decent photo through that - but perhaps two metres up, the screen changed to a wider mesh. I held the camera above my head and poked the lens through the bigger mesh. By having a view screen I could adjust down, I was able to compose the shot of the monkey.
Zoos offer limited vantage points, so it is often hard to take a photo without getting a distracting item such as part of a fence or some maintenance equipment into the shot. If you are faced with this, try to visualize how you could crop the photo once you get it into an image editor. By pre-visualizing, you can often create a more dynamic photo just by cropping out the parts that don't add value.
Photographing animals at the zoo can sometimes be disappointing if the kept subjects are mere shadows of their wild glory. I remember seeing polar bears in one zoo that were mangy and well past their prime. And many specimens do not do well in captivity, putting a hauntingly sad face to the term "caged beast." However, other animals can be lively and seem to thrive in their artificial environment.
Beyond the subjects themselves, photographing subjects at zoos and aquariums can hold other challenges. Often cages are made of glass or clear polycarbonate, and it's difficult to capture an animal without also getting glare and reflections. This is also a major problem with photographing marine life at an aquarium. Cages with bars or wire mesh are often worse because you can't find a better shooting angle as you might be able to do with a glass enclosure. The glass or mesh can also fool the autofocus system in a camera, so if you are not mindful of this, you might end up with a memory card full of out of focus photos.
Lighting can also be a challenge. Indoor pavilions often use subdued lighting, and using a flash may not be viable, so you need to figure out a way to steady the camera for a long exposure – and also pray your subject does not move. With a tankful of fish, it's impossible to use a long exposure and not get blurred fish.
Many of the advances in digital camera technology can help you take betters photos at the zoo or aquarium. High sensitivity (aka high ISO) settings allow you to use a faster shutter speed under low light conditions, and often this is the ticket for getting crisp shots of furry critters when in indoor pavilions. Mechanical anti-shake technology, either applied to the lens or the sensor components, can also reduce blurring caused by camera shake at low shutter speed. Anti-shake technology can also be helpful if you are some distance away from your subject and need to use an extreme telephoto setting – if you are far away from the dolphin show at an aquarium, for example. But if you happen to get ringside seats at the dolphin pool, another feature you might want is waterproofing. Some point and shoot cameras, notably models from Pentax and Olympus , will withstand some splashing and even a dunking, but you can also purchase waterproof skins at a reasonable price for several popular camera models.
One feature I've used often at the zoo is an articulated view screen. One primate cage I visited had a small mesh barrier at eye level – impossible to get a decent photo through that - but perhaps two metres up, the screen changed to a wider mesh. I held the camera above my head and poked the lens through the bigger mesh. By having a view screen I could adjust down, I was able to compose the shot of the monkey.
Zoos offer limited vantage points, so it is often hard to take a photo without getting a distracting item such as part of a fence or some maintenance equipment into the shot. If you are faced with this, try to visualize how you could crop the photo once you get it into an image editor. By pre-visualizing, you can often create a more dynamic photo just by cropping out the parts that don't add value.
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