I hadn’t been to the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, Florida since early 2007 and Tom M. had some new gear he wanted to try – so we decided to visit  this week.    Here’s a few photos I made along with some photo hints.

The River Otter exhibit was fun.  If you’re patient and the otter’s in the mood, you can make a nice image of it swimming.  Up your ISO to get a fast shutter speed and get close to the glass to block reflections.  Then press the button right  before “the moment”.

One of our Photography Interest Group members, Jeff S. has a write-up about the zoo on his blog:   http://www.firefallphotography.com/central-florida-zoo/.  There’s some good info and photos there – well worth a read.

Macaw – Many zoos have these very photogenic birds around.  They’re good posers!

Photography at this zoo can be challenging.  Many of the animals are behind glass or wire mesh fences, and far away or in bad light.   You’ll need to look for situations where you have a clear view of the animals and if you’re patient they’ll often come closer.  You can also try the standard techniques i.e. Use wide open apertures to blur the fencing;  Hold your lens close to the glass or use your hands to block reflections; etc.

Snake eyes – Albino Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.  The “herpetarium” is dark.  I didn’t bring a flash, but If I had, I might have tried using it (held out to the side to avoid reflections).  The snakes don’t normally move fast – in this case I braced my camera so I could use a slow shutter speed (I also didn’t bring a tripod).

Busy Bee – There are a lot of pretty plantings and flowers at the zoo. I made this photo in the Butterfly Garden area.

And one last photo – we went by the marina in Sanford before going to breakfast and then the zoo.  It’s a nice place for sunrise.

I’m glad we got up early

As usual, you can click on these photos to go to Flickr, where you can see larger versions.  You can also see a few more photos from the Central Florida Zoo in this set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.