Horsing Around

Running Around In Circles

I know the photo isn't the best - a touch out of focus; however, I did like the shot. I took this photo when I was down in Australia in 2009. I believe it was at the Melbourne Zoo, as it is grouped in with all my zoo photos.

Photoshop Elements 7

This afternoon I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and installed in on my laptop (which indicates enough room to install and still have lots left over).  Twice now when playing with the program, my laptop froze on me and I couldn't do anything.  I don't know why this is happening but I'll definitely be looking into this.

I find it odd that there wasn't more of a manual included in the box, but there might be something online or on the CD.  Also, I know there are books and magazines, and I do have one magazine that is supposed to explain how to do things.  I'll have to dig it out and look into it.  I'm excited to have this program, and hope I can learn to use it well in order to enhance my photos.

I haven't forgotten to post some pictures today.  These two shots were also taken in Australia when I visited the Werribee Free Range Zoo.  None of the animals here are in cages; they all roam freely in wide enclosed areas. 

I realize in the first picture that it would have been better if I had captured all of the horns.  But, we were in a bus and it was difficult to do so without getting part of the bus or the people on the other side of me in the shots.  I'm sure there are lots about this picture that could be adjusted (I was actually attempting to fix it up in Photoshop when the computer froze on me).  I decided to post it as is for now, and at some point when I "fix" it up, I can post that version of the photo as well.

As for the second shot, I find the back too light/white.  That is something I would try to fix (it's supposed to be sky) in Photoshop.  Also, the lower left hand corner looks a little dark and blurry.  Not sure how I'd fix that, but I think it's something to try adjusting.

Well, thanks for visiting the blog.  Please feel free to leave comments.  I'm off to figure out Photoshop Elements now!

Melbourne Zoo

These pictures were taken when I visited the Melbourne Zoo in August.  It's a huge place, and it took us several hours to get through the entire thing.  Zoos are great places to take pictures of animals, particularly those which might not be from your own neck of the woods. 

Sadly, in my opinion, cages or bars often ruin a great picture.  For example, the picture of the lion was taken through wire, but it looks (to me) a little soft or blurry in places from said wire.  It's not as bad as having to take the picture where the wire is directly in front of the animal or bird and you can tell that it is in a cage.  Thankfully, the picute of the emu had the wire fence in back of the bird.  I would prefer the picture to not have had the fence in it, but the emu was standing directly in front of it so it was hard not to get the wires in the frame.

The last shot is of a red panda.  It was in the feeding box and poked its head out.  I like how you can see the "food dust" on the whiskers.  I had cropped this on the computer so that most of the food box wasn't showing, however, for some reason it couldn't save the change.

I like these photos, but I am aware they could probably be adjusted in some way or another, or even have tried different perspectives or whatnot.  This is all part of the learning process for me.

Again, I don't have the camera specs, other than to say I used my Pentax K200 camera with my Sigma 70-300mm zoom lens (which also has macro capabilities at 300mm).  I love using this lens, but I need to get a stable tripod so I can use it better, especially for macro shots!

I'd love to hear your comments, helpful advice, etc.  Remember, I'm not looking for criticism, unless it's constructive, and nice/helpful.  I want to learn, not be turned off the hobby by rudeness.

Also, what do you find, if anything, challenging about zoo photography?  What is the best zoo shot you've taken?