Mandrill... and why edit!

It has been quite some time since I visited the zoo so it was really lovely to go along recently for my grandson's very first zoo trip. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I normally might have done but I did manage to get a few along the way while listening to my grandsons efforts to mimic different animal sounds.

In the past it has been almost impossible to get a decent shot of the mandrills as they have been behind glass, but since my last visit a number of the animals have been moved to different enclosures and this meant that the mandrills were outdoors and more easy to see. However these images are a perfect example of why editing photos is often necessary. They were all shot using a high ISO (1250), given that the beast was hiding in the shade of the shrubs and trees, but with a relatively fast shutter speed (1/600sec) to freeze the action as the Mandrill was pacing about. This combination was intended to keep noise to a minimum and produce a clear image. The fifth image in this selection is unedited to show that without some essential tweaks the picture would be pretty useless. If I had used a higher ISO or a slower shutter speed there would have been too much grain and blur so again the images would have been useless. Editing software however allows those problems to be solved, showing off this magnificent creature to stunning effect which would otherwise not have been possible. 
 

Flying Together

Here are a couple of shots of a pair of Canada Geese in flight, they had just taken off from the wetlands at Burton Mere and I think they look magnificent. It amazes me that such bulky birds manage to get off the ground and still look so elegant.

In the second image you can see that the geese are communicating with each other, they were certainly making a lot of noise but I am sure they weren't just making noise but they were actually "talking". Perhaps the lead goose was saying "keep up".

These shots were taken with my Tamron 150mm - 600mm F/5 - 6.3 lens

ISO250 600mm f/8.0 1/640sec

I have decided that I will try to include more details re the settings for the pictures I share,  I know that some of you won't really be interested in that so I will include this detail at the end of each post or maybe under each picture. It really is for my benefit because I think if I pay more attention to these settings it will help me review the things that work well and what I might need to do differently in future.

King of Beasts

I wasn't able to post anything yesterday due to not having access to an internet connection but I am back with a great post today, at least I think so.  I have been waiting all week to share these photos of these wonderful lions. 

In the first shot the male was just letting out a magnificent roar that literally made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It is a shame that the picture doesn't really capture that but all the same I like this shot.

I also like the second picture of the female at rest, and you can see how thick and soft its fur is.

By far the best image is the third one. I am really happy with this one, it captures the concentration in the lion's eyes and it says "Don't mess with me, I'm the Boss!". I am really happy with the clarity of this picture given that it was shot through the chain link fence of the lion's enclosure. I am usually quite self critical, and that's no bad thing as it drives me to improve, but I'm really chuffed with this picture.