Woburn Safari Park

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Edit My Images
Yes
So....I thought I would upload a few photos and get some critique on it!

However I just realised a fundamental thing....a picture looks about 100 times different on pc monitor then it does on the back of the LCD screen.

My own brutal feedback on my own, is that the lighting looks all washed out and the pics look dull.

However a question - is that me being poor or is that the lens? I used a 70-300mm lens

All feedback/critique welcome

I am planning an another trip the end of next month and would like to take some learnings and look to apply
 
A couple of questions
  • Were you shooting through glass (guessing that you were?)
  • What exposure mode were you shooting in?
okay another one
  • What 70-300mm lens?
 
Being woburn I would bet that most of them were, Neil.

OP make sure your windows are clean, inside and out, and the car is stationary,
before taking images.
To brutally honest the 70-300 lens, apart from the L series,
are not the best in the world, but are "capable"
Processing the image will also help to bring a lot more from a "flat / dull" image.
especially if shooting through glass.
A quick edit, that is levels and sharpen, to give you an idea.
Although I must admit that I have sharpened it a little too much,
I was trying to find the focal point, and it appears to be on the log, behind the Rhino.
Are you using single point focus? multi point focus will lock onto the nearest object.

Use single point and aim for the eye.

View attachment 19409

View attachment 19410
 
This one is very much over exposed, although the detail is still in there, so it can be pulled back a little.
The subject is too central in the frame, and you clipped the ends of the horns off, which is a bit of a shame really.
I got rid of a lot of the negative space and left a little room for it to "look into"
I darkened the images and sharpened it, also.
Hope that all helps :)

View attachment 19412

View attachment 19413
 
A couple of questions
  • Were you shooting through glass (guessing that you were?)
  • What exposure mode were you shooting in?
okay another one
  • What 70-300mm lens?


Hey - yup I was shooting through the window, the joys of the park these were done through either the main front glass or the windows on the side

With regards to exposure, I will need to double check the picture when I get home as I was playing around with it

The actual lens is a Sigma DG 70-300 which I got to see if I needed that focal length. Not 100% sold on it...
 
This one is very much over exposed, although the detail is still in there, so it can be pulled back a little.
The subject is too central in the frame, and you clipped the ends of the horns off, which is a bit of a shame really.
I got rid of a lot of the negative space and left a little room for it to "look into"
I darkened the images and sharpened it, also.
Hope that all helps :)

View attachment 19412

View attachment 19413


Wow - looking at the second pic I feel like a real photographer :)

I def think I over exposed it and did not realise until I put it on the pc the top of the horns missing.

On the other picture you saved :), you mentioned multi point focus, I was always under the impression (shooting with a Canon D600) that you could/should only focus on one thing. While aiming for the horn I may have got the log on the back.

Thank you for doing the edits, its a real shock/amazement to see what you can do post production. Especially with pictures that I have taken my self
 
The actual lens is a Sigma DG 70-300 which I got to see if I needed that focal length. Not 100% sold on it...
I had one of those and wondered if it was of that bracket.
Unless you have membership for Woburn, i'd suggest you practice by taken photos of the cat or something from the car. It's not a great lens in the best conditions and shooting through car windows will only make it harder.
 
Wow - looking at the second pic I feel like a real photographer :)
:)

On the other picture you saved :), you mentioned multi point focus, I was always under the impression (shooting with a Canon D600) that you could/should only focus on one thing. While aiming for the horn I may have got the log on the back.
Yep that was my point, use the single point focus (only one red square showing in the viewfinder not all of them)
But when shooting animals / birds etc always aim for the eye.

And with something like that with large horns, use a narrow-ish aperture to keep the rest in focus.
around f/5.6 (+) something like f/2.8 may will blur out a lot of the peripheral detail, depending on distance etc.
But don't get too hung up on that, just yet, as Neil said above, practice on the cat / dog / horse / etc. beg borrow or steal if you don't have one. ;)
Offer to shoot a friends pet in exchange for the image if you have too :)

Thank you for doing the edits, its a real shock/amazement to see what you can do post production. Especially with pictures that I have taken my self
Glad to have helped,
You may like to read through this at some point, Its a little something I wrote recently.
It should give you a few more tips.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/re...-guide-to-shooting-through-mesh-and-glass.13/

One final point, if Woburn is localish to you, have you thought about Whipsnade? (linky)
(Its near Dunstable downs)
The animals are free roaming in very large paddocks.
And you don't have to worry about shooting through the car windows.
It costs £23 / adult to get in plus £20 for the car.
However you don't need to take the car in,
You can park free, over the road and walk in, there is a free bus that goes round the park
about every half hour.
Or you can just walk, but its big area and you may not see it all in one day :)
 
I had one of those and wondered if it was of that bracket.
Unless you have membership for Woburn, i'd suggest you practice by taken photos of the cat or something from the car. It's not a great lens in the best conditions and shooting through car windows will only make it harder.

:) Lesson learnt

It was a day trip with the kids, and thought it would be a good excuse to take the camera
 
:)


Yep that was my point, use the single point focus (only one red square showing in the viewfinder not all of them)
But when shooting animals / birds etc always aim for the eye.

And with something like that with large horns, use a narrow-ish aperture to keep the rest in focus.
around f/5.6 (+) something like f/2.8 may will blur out a lot of the peripheral detail, depending on distance etc.
But don't get too hung up on that, just yet, as Neil said above, practice on the cat / dog / horse / etc. beg borrow or steal if you don't have one. ;)
Offer to shoot a friends pet in exchange for the image if you have too :)


Glad to have helped,
You may like to read through this at some point, Its a little something I wrote recently.
It should give you a few more tips.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/re...-guide-to-shooting-through-mesh-and-glass.13/

One final point, if Woburn is localish to you, have you thought about Whipsnade? (linky)
(Its near Dunstable downs)
The animals are free roaming in very large paddocks.
And you don't have to worry about shooting through the car windows.ou - I really
It costs £23 / adult to get in plus £20 for the car.
However you don't need to take the car in,
You can park free, over the road and walk in, there is a free bus that goes round the park
about every half hour.
Or you can just walk, but its big area and you may not see it all in one day :)


Thank you for all the hints - much apprecited

I think I am going to have to ask the neighbour if she would like a few pics of the cat to put up on the wall :D

Woburn this week was dual purpose to take the kids out as well, but think "they" may want to go Whipsnade in the next couple of weeks
 
Thank you for all the hints - much apprecited

I think I am going to have to ask the neighbour if she would like a few pics of the cat to put up on the wall :D

Woburn this week was dual purpose to take the kids out as well, but think "they" may want to go Whipsnade in the next couple of weeks
No problem :)
Whipsnade is quite local to me and I go quite a bit.
I never tire of it TBH :)

I'm sure the kids will enjoy it too :)
There's a "kids zoo" and a large playground.
Plus plenty of "creepy crawlies" in the discovery centre.

Look at the on line family ticket prices if you decide to go,
You may manage to save yourself a few quid. I think they also take Tesco vouchers too.
 
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You have to change your tesco club card vouchers for day out ones to use them at whipsnade and other places

Actually the animals you have in the pictures you can have the windows open to make things easier, it's only in
the big cats and bears they have to be closed if you get caught ;)
 
I know I am a bit late to this thread but just wanted to say I always find shooting through the front windscreen hopeless because of the slant - don't even bother trying now.
 
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