An afternoon at the zoo

September 29, 2008 @ 2:14AM

An afternoon at the zoo

By Carlos Miller -...

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I visited the Miam Metro Zoo this weekend for the first time in more than 20 years and was able to put my Canon 300mm F/4L IS lens to good use.

But I wish I had not forgotten my 1.4x lens extender because is some cases, 300mm was still not long enough to get the close-ups that I wanted.

However, it was the perfect length for many of these photos, which can be enlarged by clicking on them.

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For some reason, this lowland gorilla reminded me of the cops who arrested me. Thankfully, there was a moat that separated us.

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I captured these Bengal tigers during feeding time as a zoo worker tossed them a piece of raw meat. (click on link to see more photos).

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It turns out, the lowland gorillas are actually very gentle creatures who pick their nose when they think nobody is watching.

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These monkeys are called Siamang and they spend their days on a small island swinging from trees.

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The white handed gibbons are kept on another island next to the Siamang island and they also spend their days swinging from trees. Obviously, desegregation hasn’t reached the zoo.

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The Indian elephants are slightly smaller than the African elephants.

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This Asian bear looked as if he was sleeping off an MSG-laden meal.

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The chimpanzees were not too social because most of them were sleeping, but I was able to capture this hand through a dirty glass.

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The Malayan Tapir

The following pictures are of a waterfall inside the zoo.

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Comments

Anonymous

3 years ago

My favorite is the white tiger with the butterfly. You take great pictures Carlos.

Anonymous

3 years ago

That’s actually raw meat. I think it was a white bengal.

Anonymous

3 years ago

I love the sleeping bear. He’s all “leave me alone, bitches!”

Anonymous

3 years ago

Oh, meant to add – did you get any shots of the Komodo dragon?

Anonymous

3 years ago

Wow your right is is raw meat. Oh well it still is a really cool picture.

Anonymous

3 years ago

Tere,

If I remember correctly, the Komodo dragon was obstructed or was camouflaged by his surroundings, so I didn’t even bother taking a photo I know I would not post.

Anonymous

3 years ago

Scott – yeah, it was their morning snack. The trainer was all “don’t stand behind me; that’s the blood zone.”

T – My sis said that same thing about the Komodo Dragon – that the fake one was scarier than the real one.

Great pics, Carlos. I love the facial expression on the Gibbon (the black ones were the Gibbons, right?) So sweet!! Yeah, my “through-glass” pics came out terrible because the glass was so dirty. They need to train the chimps how to use a bottle of Windex and some paper towels!

Anonymous

3 years ago

“T – My sis said that same thing about the Komodo Dragon – that the fake one was scarier than the real one.”

Well at least Tere thought so. Isn’t that the one that scared her half to hell?

Anonymous

3 years ago

I typically go there with a min. 400mm 5.6L or my 500mm.

it’s been too hot lately, but as temps cool, you’ll see me there monster lens in tow …

these are good. that 300 lens is excellent and not as heavy …..

Anonymous

3 years ago

Love these Carlos! Especially the white bengal tiger . . . but all are great.

Anonymous

3 years ago

We shall not speak of the fake Komodo dragon that freaked me out!

Anonymous

3 years ago

you should sell coffee cups with the white tiger on it. it’s a fantastic picture. that and the gorrila with the stick in his mouth.

Anonymous

3 years ago

Oops. Do you have “white tiger attacks butterfly shaped meat hunk” in any resolution resembling 1280×1024? (1600×1200, even?)

Anonymous

3 years ago

For some reason, this lowland gorilla reminded me of the cops who arrested me. I wouldn’t malign the gorillas with such a comparison. Great shots! That 5D/300mm pumps out some excellent results. I’ve really been looking forward to a zoo trip w/the Pentax I got this year.

Anonymous

3 years ago

Srcohiba,

I would like to go again with my 1.4 extender to get extreme facial close-ups of the animals.

Genewitch,

I shoot in RAW so the image I have is twice as large as you mentioned.

Ms C,

Thanks for the continuing support.

Travis,

The gorillas did seem a lot friendlier than the cops I encountered that night.

Anonymous

3 years ago