The Zoo

[cellophane]

i went to the zoo a few weeks ago and while i got some decent shots i noticed a few things about photographing there in general that i am unsure of how to compensate for or at least deal with.

1. the glass. lots and lots of exhibits are behind plexi (or glass?) and the lighting is low. what are some good ways to get the exposure needed to see the animals without flashing or getting a lot of reflection on the glass? i know a flash at an angle would generally work but i feel bad using one in some poor animals face
2. distance from the camera. i guess the easiest way to take care of this would be to buy a longer or wider lens but since both are out of the budget right now are there other ways to accommodate that giraffe that is at the very back of her pen or the bird that is in a cage that is only a few inches away?
3. weird lighting - several of the exhibits have an exterior cage with an interior passage way for visitors to walk through. at the time of day i went (11am ish) the back of the cage was pretty bright and the walkway wasnt. the camera did pretty well adjusting for it but the back of the shots can still be washed out, or the foreground will be dark.

i have a Canon 40D with the kit lens (28 - 135mm), a UV filter and no external flash or tripod (yet) and obviously am still trying to sort through all the ways to adjust to what I'm shooting

the zoo set is here if anyone wants to cite specific examples as a reference.

thanks!
chad

[inkista]

Originally Posted by cellophane

the glass. lots and lots of exhibits are behind plexi (or glass?) and the lighting is low. what are some good ways to get the exposure needed to see the animals without flashing or getting a lot of reflection on the glass? i know a flash at an angle would generally work but i feel bad using one in some poor animals face

Faster lens. Or some kind of stabilization for the lens/camera. Monopods are great for this. For me, though, faster lens is the key--if you don't have a big max. aperture, you just won't be able to get the faster shutter speed you need. If you're really budget strapped, the 50mm f/1.8 II might be worth it. But I'm afraid this one is definitely a question of gear.

distance from the camera. i guess the easiest way to take care of this would be to buy a longer or wider lens but since both are out of the budget right now are there other ways to accommodate that giraffe that is at the very back of her pen or the bird that is in a cage that is only a few inches away?

You can try cropping in post, or getting a teleconverter, but mostly you're stuck here, needing a telephoto or telephoto zoom. The most economical decent-quality solution I can think of is the EF-S 55-250 IS. It's about $250. Not great for low light or fast action, but still useful.

weird lighting - several of the exhibits have an exterior cage with an interior passage way for visitors to walk through. at the time of day i went (11am ish) the back of the cage was pretty bright and the walkway wasnt. the camera did pretty well adjusting for it but the back of the shots can still be washed out, or the foreground will be dark.

High dynamic ranges are always hard--you basically have to choose what you want to emphasize and just expose accordingly. accepting you're going to either blow highlights or lose details in shadow--at the zoo though, it isn't hard to figure out what your subject is--it's usually the animal in the exhibit . Shooting RAW can help you have more latitude for adjusting exposure in post processing. You could (if your subject isn't moving) try bracketing a few exposures and doing HDR processing, but that gets problematic if your subject is moving. Shooting RAW and using a single shot for HDR might work, but I've never found it particularly satisfying.