Nov 27, 2007, 00:05
It's been almost three years since we visited the excellent San Antonio Zoo.
Sadly, one of our elephants who had been here for 30 years or so died suddenly, so his companion is undergoing therapy in the form of extra human interaction. She seems to be doing well, now.
As usual, the kangaroos were laying about, scratching and snoozing.
This photo was the result of waiting an extra ten seconds for a final shot that had more cuteness.
A large pit viper, I think.
Normally I can rattle off the species of almost any reptile from memory but am not too good at ID from a view of their chins, and on this visit I didn't read any of the name plates either.
This grizzly bear was hidden from view on our first pass, so I insisted we try again later.
After a few frames he decided to mess with me--always walking away so I only had a shot of his butt.
I would anticipate and run ahead, so he would turn around and walk the other way, over and over.
Grizzly bears are big (up to 1500 pounds and 8 feet tall) and fast (35 mph) and very smart.
I had a sudden moment of fear that turned to respect when I realized that this huge and dangerous animal was playing with me--and winning.
Back in the reptile house, I caught this pair of juvenile komodo dragons--the SA Zoo has succeeded in breeding them.
My plan of attack for the often poorly-lit reptiles was to shoot in aperture priority mode @f2 and iso200, using a rubber lens hood that I could press against the glass to block reflections plus a monopod for added stability at shutter speeds that were definitely beyond handheld range.
The shallow DOF doesn't bother me a bit.
Sadly, one of our elephants who had been here for 30 years or so died suddenly, so his companion is undergoing therapy in the form of extra human interaction. She seems to be doing well, now.
As usual, the kangaroos were laying about, scratching and snoozing.
This photo was the result of waiting an extra ten seconds for a final shot that had more cuteness.
A large pit viper, I think.
Normally I can rattle off the species of almost any reptile from memory but am not too good at ID from a view of their chins, and on this visit I didn't read any of the name plates either.
This grizzly bear was hidden from view on our first pass, so I insisted we try again later.
After a few frames he decided to mess with me--always walking away so I only had a shot of his butt.
I would anticipate and run ahead, so he would turn around and walk the other way, over and over.
Grizzly bears are big (up to 1500 pounds and 8 feet tall) and fast (35 mph) and very smart.
I had a sudden moment of fear that turned to respect when I realized that this huge and dangerous animal was playing with me--and winning.
Back in the reptile house, I caught this pair of juvenile komodo dragons--the SA Zoo has succeeded in breeding them.
My plan of attack for the often poorly-lit reptiles was to shoot in aperture priority mode @f2 and iso200, using a rubber lens hood that I could press against the glass to block reflections plus a monopod for added stability at shutter speeds that were definitely beyond handheld range.
The shallow DOF doesn't bother me a bit.