One of the first photography books I bought suggested two things for finding great places to take pictures: postcards and the zoo.
Postcards? I mean, why try to find something unique in a place with which you’re not familiar? See what the pros took shots of, and use that as a starting point.
The Zoo? Finding wildlife in the wild can be well nigh impossible. But the zoo, they’re right there, and they can’t go anywhere.
So I went to the zoo to try out my new camera.
The weight wasn’t as much of a problem as I thought it would be: it was only when I tried to hold it up for five or more minutes, waiting for a meditating gorilla to bat an eyelash that my arms got tired and my wrists threatened to hurt (yes, I can tell before they start to hurt that they’re going to hurt). But the wait was always worth it: I mean, look at that uncouth gorilla above (click to zoom)! I’m sure you can guess where that finger went next… ummm, yummy!
The speed of the camera was unbelievable. And I’m not just talking about the auto-focus, which wasn’t just super fast, but had 45 focus points! It was so *&$#ing accurate! No, the speed was really about the shutter speed. Big Factor. I haven’t figured out how to take eight frames per second yet, but I was definitely in the four or five range just clicking the button. Amazing, and there’s no way I would’ve captured this snarling tiger without it (click to zoom).
Still, the shutter speed had some drawbacks. When a critter was in great lighting (they’re not dumb: it was hot today, and they were almost always in the shade), I’d start firing away even though the critter was totally still. Or doing the same thing over and over again. I took dozens of nearly identical pictures of that same tiger gnawing on a rabbit carcass. I never did that with my old, slow film camera.
Somehow, I spent six hours at the zoo. My stomach told me when to eat lunch, but I was blown away when I looked at my cell phone and saw it was after 4pm. Fun day.