Seoul Zoo

One of the things I'm excited about most with my new SLR is animal photography. While snapping shots at the zoo is certainly cheating to the purist, it's a good place to start. It's also a frustrating way to learn that you're going to spend $1,500 on a fast telephoto lens sooner than you want to. Who knew the pelican was so fast?

Everything shot with the Nikon D90 and 18-55mm lens with a circular polarizing filter. It was beyond foggy and I figured it was the only way to get usable shots. If I could have got closer to the lions and tigers and bears I would have been happy.

Happy Anniversary!
ISO 320, 44mm, F/5.3 @ 1/20 sec
I cranked the saturation all the way up under VIVID picture control (maybe a little too much...) to counter the creeping fog in the afternoon. We spent so much time with the birds we forgot about the elephants. Idiots.

Spit Shine
ISO 320, 40mm, F/5.3 @ 1/100 sec
Thank God for active D-lighting. I'm not savvy enough with my exposure readings yet to change on the fly as much as I should, but with a simple press of a button I was able to light this guy up to the right levels. Just before he spit in my eye.

Gator Country
ISO 320, 30mm, F/4.5 @ 1/5 sec
I forgot to read the sign so I don't know where these guys are from, but they are still pretty scary. Notice the amateur dummy reflected in the water. Silly.

Sad Stripes

ISO 320, 18mm, F/2.5 @ 1/15 sec

Korea is often an exercise in disturbance, but this might take the cake. Two fish huts pushed together featuring the skulls and hides of endangered animals. Kev is not impressed.

Pride
ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/125 sec

I'd like to say that right after this photo a brutal battle kicked off... but the lion on the left just strolled through and the rest hugged it out. This illustrated just how bad I want a telephoto lens - I was tempted to get in there with these big sissies.

Goat Mountain

ISO 320, 29mm, F/4.5 @ 1/160 sec

It's impossible to capture just how cool goats are in photographs. Any animal's physiology that drives it to climb to the highest peak it can find for no apparent reason is A-OK in my book. We watched an ancient, broken down old goat who could barely walk ascend near the peak with moves so lithe all the ballerinas in Russia wretched in jealousy.

Watchdogs

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/30 sec

Something about these animals is just cool. I guess you have to be pretty hip to live on with the awkward q-tip of the animal world, the giraffe.

Peace

ISO 320, 45mm, F/5.3 @ 1/25 sec

If anyone can tell me what function these silly horns serve I'll give them a dollar. a fat, awkward animal with horns that are too long to do any real stabbing deserves to be fed to the lions. The female lions.

Earn Those Stripes

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/25 sec

I shot a majority of the day in BW, for a number of reasons. First, everything is either brown or gray in the winter and nothing stands out. Second, it's a zebra. Why would I need more colour?

Grand Entry

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/40 sec

We rode the lift from the park entrance to the zoo. Why? Because walking is for suckers.