Fence gets in the way :-(

[richmond]

I visited that favourite TP place (Chester Zoo) and was disappointed with most of the pic's I took. Lots of the animals/birds are behind fences and I found it very difficult to get any decent shots of them. I would apprieciate some advice on settings etc so's to blur out the wire.

Pelicans

Here I tried to shoot through the holes in the fence. I had to lean over a wall and stand on tiptoes to get it. But it's a blured mess that no amount of USM can repair.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Di

 

[CT]

You really need a decent range of lenses or a good flexible zoom to tackle varying zoo enclosures as the distance of the critters and their size varies so much. I find the 100-400 zoom pretty well ideal and it never comes off the camera at zoos. You rarely need more than 400mm, but on the odd occasion that you do, you have the options of adding the 1.4X or 2X converters to give more reach.

Look for angles where you can lose the give away zoo backgrounds if possible - chain link fences, concrete walls etc. It's not always possible of course, but where you can lose the backgrounds the pics are much nicer and to all intents and purposes could have been taken in the wild. Where you can't lose the background then use a large aperture to reduce DOF and at least throw the messy background OOF as much as possible.

To lose chain link fencing between you and the critters, get the lens as close to the wire as possible - actually touching it if you can (use a lens hood to protect your lens) and use as large an aperture as possible which will throw the fence so far oof that it hopefully wont be visible in your shots at all.

 

[richmond]

Many thanks CT. I'll put those tips to use on my next visit. Unfortunately not the 100-400 zoom though. I have a DSLR looky likey, Fuji S9500 with a max zoom of 300.

Di

 

[brummie]

Many thanks CT. I'll put those tips to use on my next visit. Unfortunately not the 100-400 zoom though. I have a DSLR looky likey, Fuji S9500 with a max zoom of 300.

Di

I thought it was more than 300. My 5600 is 380 i think.

Anyway... 300 is enough. You can crop after wards.

 

[staffitaxi]

I think there is a degree of luck involved. Getting the right angle etc.

I took 6/7 shots of the tigers and most of them showed heavy signs of wire mesh except for two. Wish I could remember which spot I was stood in when I took them!! I tried from two different places and have no idea now.

The fences etc are very annoying at Chester.

Andrea