British Wildlife Centre, nr Lingfield

[andycallaghan]

Hey all,

Just wanted to post a few piccies from my trip to the British Wildlife Centre today.

All photos were taken with a Sony a450, using a "cheap" 18-250mm Sony lens.

Hope you like.
As you can see, the polecats were very open to being photographed!

Advice/criticism appreciated.

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[andycallaghan]

Bumping for feedback.....

 

[Gremlin]

Ok Andy to be perfectly honest these ll look a bit washed out and out of focus to me, have you done any processing on them ?
Had a quick play with the fox, not perfect but with a bit of time and effort it could really be bought out.
One other criticism is to watch the backgound, try not to get the wire mesh in it

 

[andycallaghan]

Oh right, didn't think they looked out of focus.....

I've not done anything to them processing wise, so maybe I should.

And the wire mesh is a bugger!

 

[Chaz Photos]

yes you photos do need some pp here is the no1 as it might look

original

 

[Cobra]

I do agree with Gremlin
they certainly do look soft,
almost as if they were shot through dirty glass ?
or you have clipped the wire causing a blur ?
There are some nice potential images in there though

Just a tweak with shadows and highlights
and a touch of USM (UnSharp Mask)

Yours

Mine 2 minutes in photoshop
hope that helps

 

[andycallaghan]

Wow, I see what you mean. I know what I'm doing tonight!

 

[andycallaghan]

Also, I had a UV filter on it. It was definitely clean but could this have caused the image washiness? I only have it on to protect the lens glass. Maybe it's worth leaving the filter off and just taking extra care of the lens.

 

[Gremlin]

I never use a filter on my lens, just keep the lenses hood on, not damage one yet

 

[King of Groove]

I agree with Gremlin and Cobra but still not bad photos. Keep meaning to go back to the centre.

 

[Cobra]

I never use a filter on my lens, just keep the lenses hood on, not damage one yet

Yep seconded
you can push the lens hood tight up against glass (cutting down on reflections),
or wire without any problems
the only time I would use a filter is in a harsh environment
ie a sand storm or a risk of flying grit at a rally, or such like

 

[andycallaghan]

Ok, lens filter is coming off! I'm going back there is two weeks so I'll have to compare the pics!

 

[Gremlin]

Ok, lens filter is coming off! I'm going back there is two weeks so I'll have to compare the pics!

Is this photgraphy days, cos they are shut now till february :shrug:

 

[Daysleeper40]

Well I'm a bit late to the party but I echo what everyone else has said - are you using any PP software at the moment? It's a bit of a learning curve but it can make all the difference to a potentially great shot - a few words of advice that I was given though... "you can't polish a turd". It's easy to get carried away and think PP is the answer to everything and sadly it's not.

 

[andycallaghan]

Is this photgraphy days, cos they are shut now till february :shrug:

It's a members only day on 22nd January.

 

[Gremlin]

Ahhh right, I'm a member so you never know

 

[andycallaghan]

Ah cool. If you got to their website, it's on the home page in the bottom right.