Good Zoo needed

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snapsnap

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Dan
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I no that alot of people go to the zoo's for animal shots. I am from Berkshire and was wondering what would be the best zoo to visit. Tigers lions and all the other big animals.

Do they all have the animals behind glass or wire so you dont get a good shot??

Also what is the best time of year to go?

Many Thanks
 
Chester Zoo is good for the elephants and Giraffes as their enclosures are pretty open without obtrusive fences.

As for Lions and Tigers etc I'm sure you can appreciate why the fences are there, therefore good clear shots of any of these will be more difficult. Although Chester's lions have a large area of glass which causes few problems if you take care and manually focus.

Longleat safari park have a drive through where the Lions, Wolves and Tigers can be right up to your car (although in my experience they're usually behind a tree or the other side of the enclosure!) the rules are doors/windows kept shut, but so long as you clean your windows thoroughly before you enter the drive through safari this shouldn't be a real issue especially if you opt for manual focus.

I can't comment on any others as its been a while since I've been to them, but both suggestions here were visited last year.

As for when to visit, thats one that can't be easily answered unless you have a hotline to the metoffice. I'd always opt for spring summer time as it better for the lighting in the photo's and makes for a more enjoyable day. As with all these types of places you're never going to get a quiet day but normal rules of avoiding childrens holidays and weekends will give you more chance of getting your shots without being pushed and shoved. From my experience its also worth avoiding the week before the local schools break up for a holiday as this often results in "end of term treats and visits".
 
Try Marwell Zoo down near Winchester, I seem to remember them being photographer friendly (y)
 
I don't know how far you are willing totravel but approx 1.5 hours from you is Paradise Wildlife park in broxbourne. The big cat enclosures have platforms/verandas which take you above the fences whre you can get some fantastic clear shots with no glass or wires. This includes Cheetahs and White lions.
 
Big cats?

Get yourself signed up for the TP Wildlife Heritage Foundation trips, I defy you to find anywhere better TBH. (zoowise, obviously...)
 
Whipsnade is the most photography friendly zoo I've ever been to - I really didn't rate Marwell. I'm sure that whoever designed the enclosures at Whipsnade had photographers in mind :LOL:
 
I had a good time at London Zoo...

lots of different animals

Plenty out in the open.

some London Zoo shots

Depends where you are I guess.

Cheers
 
minimeeze said:
Whipsnade is the most photography friendly zoo I've ever been to - I really didn't rate Marwell. I'm sure that whoever designed the enclosures at Whipsnade had photographers in mind :LOL:
Click to expand...

Have to agree with this, also take a look at Cotswold Wildlife Park (no Tigers though)
 
In the past couple of years i have visited the following zoo's. I have listed next to each where i found the photo op's to be, of course different days may provide different opportunities.

*Marwell - Giraffe, Amur Leopard, Lemurs, Meerkets, Macaque, Penguins, Colobus Monkeys.
Port Lympne - Gorilla's (check out the group of Silverbacks!)
Whipsnade - Cheetah, Lions, Wolves, Elephants, Lemurs, Penguins and the odd wild bird of prey catching air on the hills.
Woburn - Lemurs, Wallabies, Lions, Squirrel Monkeys, Giraffe, Rhino.
*Bristol Zoo - Gorilla's, Penguins, Inca Turns, Fur Seals, Prairie Dogs, Lemurs.
*Twycross - Gorilla's, Prairie Dogs. Note that there is a new Snow Leopard section and a new Elephant enclosure opened since i visited.
Cotwolds - Lemurs, Lions, Penguins, Meerkats. TP user Cosmix will be able to give you more info on this place!
*Colchester - Giraffe, Zebra, Elephants, Orangutans, Mandrills, Tigers, Wolves, Meerkats, Golden Lion Headed Tamarins.
WHF - Cheetah, Lion, Leopard, Tigers, Lynx, Serval.
Longleat - Otter, Lions, Giraffe, Wolves, Rhino.


* = admission free with Marwell annual pass. Colchester gets my vote as the best zoo i have been to. Alot of the enclosures are VERY photographer orientated so there are plenty of ops.

I have also visited Lisbon Zoo and Orana Park in New Zealand, but these are a little out of the way!!
 
I had a great day out at Knowsley last week but maybe a bit to far for you to travel.

Get there when the doors open and shoot around the safari drive before it fills up, you can always go back around later, along with the advice on cleaning your windows just before you go through, try to turn of the engine as well to get rid of vibrations if your able to do so.

Have a look on http://www.safaripark.co.uk/ for other parks that my well be close enough to you but not so well known.
 
Another vote for Cotswold Wildlife Park :D

No tigers as stated but one of the Ringtail Lemurs has just given birth so a little Ringtail holding on for dear life to mummy at the mo. I've just got back and tried most of the afternoon to get a good shot of the little one but not holding out much hope :(
 
"Glass" and wire fencing needn't be a problem if you take steps to make it "disappear". Here are a couple of shots taken at Colchester Zoo, firstly through "glass" and then through wire fencing....

Glass :
20070925_162712_LR.jpg


Glass :
20100317_111346_1920_LR.jpg


Fencing :
20080425_105553_3295_LR.jpg


Fencing :
20090608_143125_8073_LR.jpg


If you or yours shop at Tesco and collect Clubcard vouchers then these can be exchanged for "days out" vouchers at 4X the face value of the Clubcard vouchers. The "days out" vouchers work at several zoos including Colchester, London and Whipsnade, also Woburn. If you go to Whipsnade it is worth taking the car in if you want to see everything. It is pricey to do so, but paying by Clubcard makes the price more appetising.

More info here - http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/
and here - http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/browse.aspx?N=4294967294+4294965954
 
The disadvantage to Longleat is that you are limited to going around the safari once so can't maximize light and animal action.

Take a look at the galleries in the UK section of www.zoochat.com, they are listed by zoo so it will give you an idea of what's available. Note its a site for people who enjoy visiting zoos so the photo quality isnt always to a great standard!
 
tdodd said:
"Glass" and wire fencing needn't be a problem if you take steps to make it "disappear". Here are a couple of shots taken at Colchester Zoo, firstly through "glass" and then through wire fencing....
Click to expand...

Tim, some tips please. Off to Edinburgh next weekend and obviously want to get the best out of it.
 
I went to Marwell and it is good but not for a good shot. There is a glass viewpoint and a high viewpoint but the glass is not clean. I remember Whipsnade being much better.
I'm just outside Berkshire and would say from a tog point of view Whipsnade will give you much better opportunities. Plus it has elephants and Marwell doesn't.
 
Think most of the pointers have been put up...

Fences:
lens hood up against the fence if possible or as close to it. A zoom lens will se right through it although this gets more awkward the more of an angle you are to the fence...

Through the fence...
pallas1.jpg


Glass again lens up against the glass using the sapre hand to cover any gaps between lens/hood and the glass to reduce the chance for reflections.

Not the best but through glass...
lion4.jpg
 
tdodd said:
"Glass" and wire fencing needn't be a problem if you take steps to make it "disappear". Here are a couple of shots taken at Colchester Zoo, firstly through "glass" and then through wire fencing....
Click to expand...

Tim...great shots but how did you overcome the fencing/wire? Using manual focus? I have tried and tried but with little success :(
 
Tips.....

Glass
Get the lens or lens hood touching the glass so that there is as little leakage of light from your side of the glass that can bounce off the glass and back into your lens. If you angle the lens a little (not too much) it will prevent the glass acting as a mirror and bouncing light back and forth between the glass and the lens. If you are able to, shade any gap between the lens (hood) and the glass so that no light can sneak in at all. A black cloth - t-shirt, hat, anything really, can help. It pretty much goes without saying but see if you can spot a clean bit of glass to shoot through. It is worth looking. Lower down the glass might be smeared from sticky fingers or scratched. Higher up you may have better luck, but always watch your composition and angles. Since the glass is way out of focus it would have to be in really bad condition to ruin your photo. The worst offender is definitely light reflecting off the glass and back into your lens. If you can't block light coming in from the side then at least look at what it is that is showing in the reflection. Maybe you can pick an angle so that the reflection is of a shaded area or someone in a dark shirt. That will be a lot better than someone wearing a sunlit t-shirt. I haven't tried this myself, but a polarising filter might help a lot in killing reflections off the glass.

Fencing
As with glass, try to get as close as you can to the fence and try to use a long focal length and keep the aperture fairly wide open. This will make your DOF shallow and mean that the fence is thrown very out of focus and will barely show, if at all. You may find that contrast is lowered, and your blacks especially might benefit from some assistance in post processing. Shoot raw so that you can more freely fiddle with your files with less harm to the IQ. Think about the sun (if there is any). Sunlit fencing will show up worse than shaded fencing, so try to shoot through a bit that is already shaded, provide some shade yourself, or maybe even avoid shooting while the sun is bright and behind you. In my experience the main fencing for the big cats is pretty sturdy mesh, but with fairly large holes. There is a lower level barrier to keep the public away from the main fence, but that is usually low enough to shoot over. If you can reach as far as you can, to get the lens as near to the main fence as possible, you may find that you can aim the lens so that it is mostly shooting through a hole and the effect of the fence is reduced. Long focal lengths will definitely help with that technique.
 
Grayman said:
Tim...great shots but how did you overcome the fencing/wire? Using manual focus? I have tried and tried but with little success :(
Click to expand...

If you are as close to the fencing/glass as possible then the lens will not (should not) try to focus on it at all. My zoo lens is a Canon 100-400mm, which has a focus limiter switch that can be set to focus no closer than 6.5m. Even if that is not set the minimum focus distance is 1.8m, so the lens is very unlikely to even try to snag the fencing.

A tighter mesh can cause greater problems, for which you may need to use manual focus. Often, focusing manually is not very accurate. If you have a monopod or tripod then maybe you can use Live View to help with manual focusing. It might be more difficult, but maybe it would even be possible to do that while hand holding, but it's not something I've tried.

Usually if I can see the mesh is affecting the image too severely then I won't bother with the shot. I don't want to go home with pictures of fences. If you are using a "macro" zoom lens then maybe it will cause problems that I do not see with my lens. If that is the case then I'm not sure what to suggest as a solution.

p.s. picking only a single AF spot may help (it is all I use) and trying to snipe through a hole in the mesh should improve your chances. It is less likely that using automatic focus point selection will give you the results you need since one AF point may well see the fence and grab onto it. Again, the closer you are to the fence the greater your chances of success. The holes will appear bigger and the fence will be farther outside the DOF zone.
 
snapsnap said:
I no that alot of people go to the zoo's for animal shots. I am from Berkshire and was wondering what would be the best zoo to visit. Tigers lions and all the other big animals.

Do they all have the animals behind glass or wire so you dont get a good shot??

Also what is the best time of year to go?

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

You don't want zoo kept big cats......what you want is the TP visit to WHF in kent next month.......you'll not get better big cat images in the uk

:D
 
tdodd said:
Tips.....

Glass
Get the lens or lens hood touching the glass so that there is as little leakage of light from your side of the glass that can bounce off the glass and back into your lens. If you angle the lens a little (not too much) it will prevent the glass acting as a mirror and bouncing light back and forth between the glass and the lens. If you are able to, shade any gap between the lens (hood) and the glass so that no light can sneak in at all. A black cloth - t-shirt, hat, anything really, can help. It pretty much goes without saying but see if you can spot a clean bit of glass to shoot through. It is worth looking. Lower down the glass might be smeared from sticky fingers or scratched. Higher up you may have better luck, but always watch your composition and angles. Since the glass is way out of focus it would have to be in really bad condition to ruin your photo. The worst offender is definitely light reflecting off the glass and back into your lens. If you can't block light coming in from the side then at least look at what it is that is showing in the reflection. Maybe you can pick an angle so that the reflection is of a shaded area or someone in a dark shirt. That will be a lot better than someone wearing a sunlit t-shirt. I haven't tried this myself, but a polarising filter might help a lot in killing reflections off the glass.

Fencing
As with glass, try to get as close as you can to the fence and try to use a long focal length and keep the aperture fairly wide open. This will make your DOF shallow and mean that the fence is thrown very out of focus and will barely show, if at all. You may find that contrast is lowered, and your blacks especially might benefit from some assistance in post processing. Shoot raw so that you can more freely fiddle with your files with less harm to the IQ. Think about the sun (if there is any). Sunlit fencing will show up worse than shaded fencing, so try to shoot through a bit that is already shaded, provide some shade yourself, or maybe even avoid shooting while the sun is bright and behind you. In my experience the main fencing for the big cats is pretty sturdy mesh, but with fairly large holes. There is a lower level barrier to keep the public away from the main fence, but that is usually low enough to shoot over. If you can reach as far as you can, to get the lens as near to the main fence as possible, you may find that you can aim the lens so that it is mostly shooting through a hole and the effect of the fence is reduced. Long focal lengths will definitely help with that technique.
Click to expand...

tdodd said:
If you are as close to the fencing/glass as possible then the lens will not (should not) try to focus on it at all. My zoo lens is a Canon 100-400mm, which has a focus limiter switch that can be set to focus no closer than 6.5m. Even if that is not set the minimum focus distance is 1.8m, so the lens is very unlikely to even try to snag the fencing.

A tighter mesh can cause greater problems, for which you may need to use manual focus. Often, focusing manually is not very accurate. If you have a monopod or tripod then maybe you can use Live View to help with manual focusing. It might be more difficult, but maybe it would even be possible to do that while hand holding, but it's not something I've tried.

Usually if I can see the mesh is affecting the image too severely then I won't bother with the shot. I don't want to go home with pictures of fences. If you are using a "macro" zoom lens then maybe it will cause problems that I do not see with my lens. If that is the case then I'm not sure what to suggest as a solution.

p.s. picking only a single AF spot may help (it is all I use) and trying to snipe through a hole in the mesh should improve your chances. It is less likely that using automatic focus point selection will give you the results you need since one AF point may well see the fence and grab onto it. Again, the closer you are to the fence the greater your chances of success. The holes will appear bigger and the fence will be farther outside the DOF zone.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim..much appreciated! Gonna try these next visit.

MrsG said:
I managed to get this at Marwell.... quite pleased as I'm quite the beginner.
4497929734_57afd7fea8_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice playful picture..did you shoot it from the bottom viewing area? I have spent a lot of time at the Amur leopard enclosure, most of the time frustrating myself. Here is one of my attempts:


Taken with my A700 prior to my 40D
 
Grayman said:
Thanks Tim..much appreciated! Gonna try these next visit.
Click to expand...

:plus1:

Thanks for these Tim, I'll be able to go and make a right hash of it next weekend. Here's hoping I get at least one thing to post up

K
 
Grayman said:
Nice playful picture..did you shoot it from the bottom viewing area? I have spent a lot of time at the Amur leopard enclosure, most of the time frustrating myself.
Click to expand...

Yeah from what I can remember it was the glass at the bottom viewing area.
Didn't get up close to the glass or anything - didn't know I was meant to LOL!

Yours is lovely. Amazing cats. Love them. Trying to talk myself into the TP trip but need a pass from the family as we all can't go!!!
 
digitalfailure said:
You don't want zoo kept big cats......what you want is the TP visit to WHF in kent next month.......you'll not get better big cat images in the uk :D
Click to expand...

Agreed (y)

Not only a fantastic way to get great pictures but also an amazing experience getting right up close to all the amazing animals.

Must put my name down for this year just need to decide what date to go for!
 
BBC Wildlife guide to zoo photography - http://www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com/WL_MAY07_photoclass_FINAL.pdf. Includes tips for shooting through glass and fencing.

It is also worth noting the comments about framing carefully to obtain a pleasing background and also having the patience to wait for the animal to do something interesting and to make eye contact if possible. I like to achieve a natural looking environment for my shots, and not see the false, manmade clutter that makes it clear they are captive animals - brickwork, ropes, shaped wood, buckets, brooms, bits of hose pipe and so on should, if possible be made to disappear. Picking your angle carefully, cropping tight, and/or using shallow DOF can often make those problems disappear, and I'm sure the results will speak for themselves.
 
digitalfailure said:
You don't want zoo kept big cats......what you want is the TP visit to WHF in kent next month.......you'll not get better big cat images in the uk

:D
Click to expand...

+1 Awesome place, you can get so close to the cats....I was stroking a tiger and a lion at points throughout the day......brilliant, I'll have to go back one day.
 
Chester Zoo gets my vote for the best zoo I have visited. The animals look happy as far as any captive wild animal can be. So much room it really takes at least a couple of days to see everything. I can highly recomend a visit.

Realspeed
 
I went to Paignton Zoo over the Easter holidays and it was a fantastic zoo,far better than Marwell and almost every animal you could think of made an appearance.Lots of walking though as it is huge
 
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