Chester zoo Jaguars

LCPete

LCPete

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Hi I borrowed the 100-400 from the missus today
had a great day :clap:
I spent several hours watching the Jaguars was determined to get a decent shot
weather was poor I was at ISO 1600 all day
I'm beginning to think that the 100-400 is sharper at 6.3 than it is at 5.6 as these look sharper than I've managed before.
The IS is great tho I was struggling for light and had to use a shutter speed of 100 mostly
Pete

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Great set - numbers three and four are the best for me!

Amazing considering the ISO and shutter speed you were using, really good skills!

Gary
 
They're really good, and when you consider the conditions, excellent.

Number 3 is fab. I was beginning to think the Jaguar enclosure was as big scam - I've been 3 times and never seen a Jaguar moving! :)
 
(y) Lovely shots. Why is it that I did exactly the same thing last weekend (even down to using my wifes 100-400) and never even saw them, let alone get any shots like that!? :sulk:
 
A truly magnificent beast ... :love: ... that you have captured very well in a lovely set of images ... (y)





:p
 
Stunning! Great eye contact on number 3 (y)
 
Thanks everyone :)
I was lucky, when I got there they had just fed them so they were quite active.
The best time to see the Jaguars is first thing in the morning as soon as the zoo opens. I normally visit them first as they seem to spend a lot of time inside later on.
I have PP the shots now here's a couple for C&C :)
Im not sure if its easy to tell a difference in webs shots but using CS2, I have colour corrected in levels, Smart sharpened and run the through Neat Image for noise reduction.
The 40D is amazing though considering the light was bad and I was at ISO 1600 there isnt much noise :clap:
Pete

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I love number 3! And well done to even get a shot....I've been twice in the past year and have only seen them moving about in the undergrowth indoors :(
 
Great set (y)
It ( 40D) certainly seems to handle high ISO very well. I have not had the need ( read courage) to crank mine up that high yet
 
Nice set :clap:looks like they were fed fish by the first photo.
they throw fish into the water and let the jaguars hunt for it, as you said a great opportunity for some great photos.
 
Thanks :)
Chris I'm finding that I have to use high ISO on a regular basis with the weather we are having lately but with the 40D its not a problem
thanks for the C&C Mike :) I will redo it in CS2
Pete
 
Cool! what a lovelt series, no 3 If i had to pick, all bloomin fabulous! I want to go to the zoo again! :p :D
 
Thanks for your really nice comments everyone :)
Pete
 
That 3rd shot with the eye contact is ace !!! looks like it was eyeing you up for a snack!!

I have been several times and not seen them at all!!!
 
3 and 4 are brilliant. A deserved reward for what sounds like a long wait.
Like many others, I've never had any luck seeing these beautiful animals active when I've visited the zoo. Will have to try and get there earlier.

Cathy
 
Great photo's I have a year pass there and have only seen them once out lol.
 
great photos love the jags at chester cant wait to get up there again this summer
 
These are great (y) No 3 as most people have already said, fantastic eye contact. Considering the lighting condistions these have come out really well, the combination of the 40D and the IS working well. Must get me a lens with IS next :D
 
I love these images- absolutely gorgeous..as the majority rules I too love #3 - I just want to be there to stroke its fur, definately need a trip to the zoo!!!

Vibrant colours too!!!

Thank you for sharing, greatly appreciated!!!
 
Lovely, number 3 especially of course.

However, the colour balance seems to be a bit off - the white fur around his nose has a definite blueish tinge. (And it's not my monitor or my eyes - the histogram confirms it.) I'm a little surprised that nobody else has mentioned it. I hope you don't mind me having a quick go at fixing it; I've also tweaked the levels to give it a bit more contrast.

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Here's the before-and-after comparison to show the changes.
Left half: original. Right half: my edited version.

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Thanks everyone:) no 3 is my fav too :clap:

Thanks Stewart thats brilliant a big improvement, did you do that by shifting the curve in levels ?

Andy the 40D with the 100-400 is brilliant. I was on a shutter speed of 170 at 6.3 hand held at ISO 1600 at 170mm.
Pete
 
Hmm, might have to hire a 100-400 and give it a try out :D
 
LCPete said:
Thanks Stewart thats brilliant a big improvement, did you do that by shifting the curve in levels ?
Click to expand...
You're welcome. After I fixed the white balance (not totally, BTW - I thought it looked best when that patch of white fur has a very slight yellow tinge), I just stretched out the ends of the histogram to make the whites whiter and the blacks blacker. I didn't do it very carefully, so I've probably lost some shadow detail and clipped some highlights - but it was just to give you an idea of how it could look.
 
LCPete said:
Thanks everyone:)

I was on a shutter speed of 170 at 6.3 hand held at ISO 1600 at 170mm.
Click to expand...

Did you have the lens hood on, and/or have the lens right up against the glass? I've seen that recommended a number of times, to reduce glare etc, but not sure how that would work when you need to track moving animals.

Thanks.

Cathy
 
StewartR said:
You're welcome. After I fixed the white balance (not totally, BTW - I thought it looked best when that patch of white fur has a very slight yellow tinge), I just stretched out the ends of the histogram to make the whites whiter and the blacks blacker. I didn't do it very carefully, so I've probably lost some shadow detail and clipped some highlights - but it was just to give you an idea of how it could look.
Click to expand...

Thanks again Stewart :)
I'm still learning photoshop, only been doing digital for about 2 years, am a slow learner on computer stuff :D
One of the members on POTN very kindly wrote a tutorial for photoshop for me so i will be able to look up how to alter the histogram
Pete
 
CJR said:
Did you have the lens hood on, and/or have the lens right up against the glass? I've seen that recommended a number of times, to reduce glare etc, but not sure how that would work when you need to track moving animals.

Thanks.

Cathy
Click to expand...

Hi Cathy I did have the lens hood on, the Jaguar enclosure is not behind glass it has a high wall and moat . When I do shoot through glass though I do have the lens as close as possible to the glass. I never even thought of removing the hood to get the lens closer to the glass that may be a good idea
I cup my hand around the end though to try to minimise reflections,
Pete
 
Thanks Pete, I obvously had the wrong enclosure in mind, thought the new jaguar enclosure was that one were you walked around inside and it was quite dark. Hadn't realised there was an outside bit.

Cathy
 
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