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Lorikeet at the Denver Zoo. Winter in Denver can be very brown. Searching for color is challenging, but heading over to the Lorikeet Adventure is always a good photo opportunity. Position yourself with the sun on your subject to really get those colors to pop. #DenverZoo, #Lorikeet #Olympus, #omd, #zoophototips, #zoo #birdsofIG, #denverzoo #denver #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #omdem1markii #getolympus

We use our telephoto lens to reach across the exhibits at the zoo to get closeups of the animals. Those long lenses can reach across the distance and bring us closer to our subjects. But some subjects are small and we can get very close. ⁣ ⁣#WorldBeeDay But don't switch away from your telephoto or zoom lens too quickly. You might think a macro is essential, but many times we can get close up shots of small animals like this bee at the @denverbotanic using our telephoto lens. ⁣ ⁣ The longer lens allows us to stay further away so we don't scare the animals. Also being further back we have a better chance of watching and learning where the insects are moving about frequently and prepare easier to catch them in action.⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .

#omd @SanDiegoZoo koala exhibit is fantastic for visitors, photographers and most importantly koalas. The exhibit provides the koalas with many trees and perches to find comfortable spots to relax. Check out mom and baby here where mom found a perch with a "kustom koala komfortable" branch behind her. 🙂 ⁣ ⁣ There is an elevated walkway that puts visitors and photographers right at eye level with these adorable animals. There are no barriers in the way of our cameras. And the railing is comfortable to rest your elbows on to hold the camera steady. Perfect for getting your photograph.⁣ ⁣ The koala exhibit is our first stop in the morning. We have been able to watch the keepers feed the koalas multiple times by going as soon as the zoo opens. We like this because the koalas are awake while eating. This is nice since they spend 22 hours a day sleeping.

Continuing the same theme as my last 2 posts. Flamingos are wonderful subjects for zoo photography. Exhibits typically have quite a few birds in them so there are plenty of subjects to choose from. They move about providing lots of different poses and interactions. I really like how this has that feather stuck to his beak. ⁣ ⁣ Also the @SanDiegoZoo has 2 different exhibits that have flamingos so there are a variety of backgrounds and angles to photograph. ⁣ ⁣ New cameras have wonderful new focusing controls. I have upgraded to the OM-1 from OMD Systems recently and I really like the new AI focus for animals and birds. The computer can track the animals movements and keep sharp focus on the eyes. This is really handy with the flamingo because they can move their heads around so quickly it is sometimes hard to keep the focus. The new modes allow me to use a shallower depth of field and still get sharp photos.⁣ ⁣ If your camera doesn't have this mode, you can use other methods to capture sharp photos. I have used a great depth of field, pre-focusing on a location and waiting for the bird to move into focus and the ever popular trial and error. As a photographer, we are allowed to take out of focus photos. We just don't show those to anyone. 🙂 ⁣ ⁣ #zoo #sandiegozoo #sandiego #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #om-1

Continuing the same theme as my last post. Watch for backgrounds that add to your photo and not distract from the subject. ⁣ ⁣ New cameras have wonderful new focusing controls. I have upgraded to the OM-1 from OMD Systems recently and I really like the new AI focus for animals and birds. The computer can track the animals movements and keep sharp focus on the eyes. This is really handy with the flamingo because they can move their heads around so quickly it is sometimes hard to keep the focus. The new modes allow me to use a shallower depth of field and still get sharp photos.⁣ ⁣ If your camera doesn't have this mode, you can use other methods to capture sharp photos. I have used a great depth of field, pre-focusing on a location and waiting for the bird to move into focus and the ever popular trial and error. As a photographer, we are allowed to take out of focus photos. We just don't show those to anyone. 🙂 ⁣ ⁣ #zoo #sandiegozoo #sandiego #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #om-1

Simple backgrounds help your subject stand out. I love photographing flamingos because of the great poses they create by bending their necks. Also they have the various textures of their feathers. ⁣ ⁣ New cameras have wonderful new focusing controls. I have upgraded to the OM-1 from OMD Systems recently and I really like the new AI focus for animals and birds. The computer can track the animals movements and keep sharp focus on the eyes. This is really handy with the flamingo because they can move their heads around so quickly it is sometimes hard to keep the focus. The new modes allow me to use a shallower depth of field and still get sharp photos.⁣ ⁣ If your camera doesn't have this mode, you can use other methods to capture sharp photos. I have used a great depth of field, pre-focusing on a location and waiting for the bird to move into focus and the ever popular trial and error. As a photographer, we are allowed to take out of focus photos. We just don't show those to anyone. 🙂 ⁣ ⁣ #zoo #sandiegozoo #sandiego #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #om-1

The variety of snake species overwhelms me and walking through the reptile house at the @SanDiegoZoo with my camera in hand provides so many subjects to photograph. This beautiful snake is the Eyelash Palm Pit Viper and the day I visited it was perched wonderfully in the light. ⁣ ⁣ The hardest part of taking its photo was dealing with the crowds of people enjoying the day at the zoo. Patience is a tip that I often recommend and usually it is to wait for our subject to move into position or turn toward the camera. This day, patience was needed to wait for openings in the crowd to step up to the glass, take a few photos and then move back out of the way as the next group of visitors approached. The good news was this snake was so content to stay and pose for me. That doesn't happen with all animals. ⁣ ⁣ #zoo #sandiegozoo #sandiego #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #om-1

Secretary bird at the @DenverZoo. These are large raptors that stand about 4 feet tall and are known to stamp on the ground to flush out prey or even stun its prey with its feet. I like the bright color on this one’s face and the wispy feathers under his beak. I rested my arms on the exhibit’s railing to steady the camera and telephoto lens to get this closeup photo. A monopod would also work when you are using a long lens to make sure you capture clean sharp photos. I like how the wide aperture allowed the bird to be in sharp focus while the background is completely blurred out. . . . #zoo #denverzoo #denver #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #omdem1markii #secretarybird #raptor #birdsofinstragram #getolympus

Jaguar at the @SanDiegoZoo. These cats are amazing in the way they move. They are very graceful and it seems effortless for them to jump up onto the rocks. Larger cats like lions and tigers have so much body weight that you can watch them prepare for the jump. These jaguars seem to just spring up without the preparations needed by the larger heavier cats. ⁣ ⁣ To get a simple non distracting background, I used a higher angle and photographed down on this cat. This way the ground became the background instead of the rocks and fence that were behind it.

Secretary Bird at the @SanDiegoZoo. Small exhibits make it hard to stay at eye level because the background is not very flattering. Here I'm aiming down on this bird to show off its feathers and beak but not show a background fence. ⁣ ⁣ A tip I like when photographing birds is to have their beak to the side so it shows off how curved and sharp they are. If the beak blends in with the body of the bird we can sometimes lose that perspective.

Spectacled Owl at the St Louis Zoo @stlzoo. Direct eye contact with the subject is one of my favorite types of photos. This birds large eyes looking directly into the camera just make my photo taking day. Patience is again the key to capture a photo with the animal looking at you. Make sure you are comfortable and can be relaxed while waiting for the perfect moment. The reward is worth it.⁣ ⁣ The St Louis Zoo Bird house has a unique style of enclosure boundaries. They are made of many very fine vertical wires that are super easy to photograph through and get clear photos of the animals. Kudos to the designer of those enclosures.

One of my tips is to always focus on the eyes. But here, I focused on the tip of this snake's nose for this image. It had been flicking its tongue out and I wanted to capture that. Low light and shallow depth of field has its tongue and mouth in focus but not his eyes. ⁣ ⁣ Focusing on the eyes help the viewer make a connection with the subject, but we can always break the "rules" to get the photos that we want. Here I wanted to highlight its tongue.

How much should we photoshop an image? This is a great question that leads to so many more. Can we photoshop our images? Better yet, should we photoshop our images? I say, heck yes. We have great tools on our phones and computers to help make our images the best they can be. We can crop, size, adjust exposure, sharpen and just overall make them look wonderful. But is there a line we shouldn't cross? ⁣ ⁣ Take a look at this image of a colorful lorikeet at the @DenverZoo. There is that little white feather on his head? It is distracting....a bit. Should I have removed it? Perhaps. But on this image I chose to leave it. Why? Because it's my photo and I felt like leaving it this time. We are all artists and it is up to us what our final image consists of. Have fun and don't worry too much what others think. But, I'd like to hear what you think on this image.

I smile when I walk into the building at the @DenverZoo and this Green Tree Python is right there posing for me. Too often he is all curled up and facing the other direction so it's special when he is actually facing me. On this day, I was lucky to have him to myself for quite a long while. The building was empty, the light was great and he posed. I think he was actually smiling.🙂. ⁣ ⁣ When you have a subject that gives you plenty of time for your photo session, take advantage of it. Move about and get great shots. When you know you got some great photos, then it is time to start experimenting with camera settings. I played with the focus stacking on this visit. It works great with a subject that stays perfectly still like this.

@SanDiegoZoo has a wonderful Koala exhibit with elevated walkways so you are right at eye level with these cute animals. In our last few visits this is our first stop of the day. We arrive before opening and when they open we head right over to the Koala exhibit. ⁣ ⁣ We have been lucky to see the keepers putting out their breakfast and seeing them more active and eating. Since they sleep so much of the day it is a lucky feeling when I can photograph them with their eyes open. ⁣ ⁣ #zoo #sandiegozoo #sandiego #zoophototips #zoophotography #photography #photographytips #zoophoto #olympus #olympusomd #omdem1markiii #getolympus #koala #marsupial #outback

I love zooming or cropping in tight on the subject and highlighting specific interesting features of an animal. We don't have to photograph the entire subject to tell our story. I love how flamingos have a variety of feather types. ⁣ ⁣ This flamingo at the @sandiegozoo is tucked in nicely with droplets of water on its back. I like how the feather is softly curling up over its face while it is grooming. ⁣ ⁣ Fill the frame with color or texture and show off how amazing these animals are.

Shallow depth of field allows your subject to pop and separate from the background. But it can backfire. Look at yesterday's posting and notice how the shallow depth of field is real shallow. So shallow in fact that the focus on the closest point of the flamingo's beak is soft and so are the feathers on the neck. But in today's photo, every part of the flamingo is the same distance from the camera. Same distance = same focus so everything is sharp.⁣ ⁣ Flamingos are constantly turning their heads so find the pose you like best and post it. Let's see those flamingo photos.

Don't overlook how a background can really add to a photo. Keep your eyes open and see what a background can be, not just what it is. Shallow depth of field can blur out the background. It becomes more abstract and makes the subject pop. You don't want a background that competes with your subject. Can you tell what this background is? ⁣ ⁣ @SanDiegoZoo has 2 flamingo exhibits. Each one offering different backgrounds, but by moving you can control what is behind your subject. Keep those feet moving.

Love to watch the big cats yawn. This Amur Leopard at the @sandiegozoo has beautiful whiskers that frame his face during this big yawn. These leopards according to the WWF are considered to be one of the rarest cats on earth with only about 100 surviving in the wild. Thank goodness for the San Diego Zoo and the zoo staff that are protecting them. ⁣ ⁣ Like most of the large cats these leopards spend a lot of time sleeping. If you can visit them often, try to change up the time of day that you visit to increase your chances of catching them when they are awake. I photographed this one around 11:30am. What times have worked best for you to see them when they are awake?

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