Photography Adventure: The Decatur Illinois Zoo

As much as I enjoy photographing wildlife in their native environment, I am not a purist who wouldn't visit a zoo. I enjoy visiting zoos where you can take your time with an animal and wait for the good shots. And since animals in the zoo are used to people, you can get pics of them facing you, rather than running away.

Some of these were taken through fences, and through glass. Luckily when you are focused on your subject, the camera will blur out any smudges or scratches on the glass. Sure it isn't as perfect as it would be if it weren't through the glass, but it can still be pretty good.

A couple of tips for newer photographers: Use a monopod. Monopods are easy to carry around with you and they allow you to stablize your camera enough to get a sharp image.

When you are shooting indoors with low light (such as in the bats shot) increase your ISO as much as possible, then back it off some if you are concerned about grainy shots. Of course film photographers are limited to the ISO of the film they have in the camera at the time, so you may want to bring more than one roll, to allow you to shoot those low light shots indoors with a high ISO, and the outdoor shots with a low ISO. Digital shooters have the advantage of being able to change the ISO for every image and don't have to wait to use up a roll of film to change the ISO. But not all digital cameras have the same maximum ISO setting. Inexpensive cameras usually max out at 400 ISO. 400 is a good all around setting for indoors and out, but in low light the shutter will stay open a long time, to let more light in, and when the animal moves it becomes blurry. I like to use 1600 or 3200 for very low light. You can even take advantage of a high ISO on a sunny day to freeze the action of a running animal.

Another trick for shooting indoors through glass: Use a polarizing filter to cut down glare on the glass. Also, wear a dark colored shirt. White shirts reflect off of the glass and back at the camera, a dark shirt can block light from behind you that causes reflecting glare. Of course if you will be out in the sun on a hot day the rest of your visit to the zoo, you'll need a white shirt to be cooler outdoors, so choose wisely based on where you plan to spend more time and the outdoor temperatures.

When shooting through fences: If you have a small lens that will alow you to poke it through a fence, as long as the animal is not a predator and is at a safe distance, do so. Telephoto lenses have a shallow depth of field, so they can actually blur the fence enough that you can barely tell it is there (such as in the picture of the wolf shot through a fence and not edited after). You can see a bit of distortion if you look closely, but not a lot. Another thought concerning fences, notice if the fence is in view behind the animal. If it is, set your F-stop to a low number, as low as possible for the lens you are using. Small F-stop numbers give less depth of field (such as in the picture of the iguana), higher ones give more depth of field.

News Flash: Exotic Animal Paradise, the drive through animal park just North of Springfield Missouri, will be closing it's gates permanently October 1, 2006. So go visit them in the next couple of months. I have taken my kids to this park almost every year for decades and I will miss getting a chance to see all kinds of animals so close up, with no fences between you and them. I have gotten pictures of the eyes of deer, mountain goats, and ponies whith a short lens in that park. If this is your first time going, be careful not to open your windows near the large cattle (ewww slobber) or the ostriches (unless you don't mind losing radio knobs). Those lammas really know how to heard a car, so don't drive away to quickly because one of them will run in front of your car to slow you down so the others can get more animal chow (the sticks you buy at the entrance to feed the animals). Turn your mirrors down toward your back wheels, so you can see if a baby animal is too close before you drive away. Oh, and if you are in the habbit of washing your car every day and cry if it gets a scratch, don't drive that car through the park. Take an old car that you don't care if it gets a ding or two. The mountain goats have been known to do what they do best, jump up on "rocks" (even the moving type). The rams once used their big spiral horns to let me know they were on that side of the car, begging for food. I hope you enjoy Exotic Animal Paradise as much as I do. A ding or two means nothing to me compared to the thrill of getting to see such beautiful animals in close proximity. Thanks to the staff of Exotic Animal Paradise for giving my family many fond memories and pictures.

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