With animals there can be a bit of a problem. They move. Just as I go to take the perfect shot, the animal decides to move, to eat, to play. And particularly with photographing animals at a zoo or wildlife park, there's the added bonus of glass or fence or bars as the case may be.
I've been attending a lot of conferences lately and with my Adelaide Zoo pass I've been able to gain free entry to the Melbourne Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo. They're great places to practice animal and bird photography.
My success has been due to taking a lot of photos, using the camera's original lens and then changing over to the telephoto lens. I also walk around the zoo several times during the day to get the different light and to see the animals engaging in their normal behaviour.
If possible, I return to the zoo on another day when the weather can be different and I'm in time for keeper talks about the animals, animal feeding times and the variety of shows where the animals (e.g. the seals) perform.
You can see the results of the successful photos at http://www.digitalsgreat.blogspot.com.au/ with DVDs like "A day at the Zoo" and "A day at the Show" and interactive jigsaw puzzles like "African Animals" and "Birds".
However, Animal Photography: A Practical Guide, by Robert Maier, is something that would be handy to study before I venture out again.
Animal Photography: A Practical Guide
Check it out (as I will be doing) by clicking on the photo for more information and to buy.
