Zoo Day

Rosamond Gifford 

Sunday turned out to be a great day.  I had checked the weather on Friday and planned to make a trip out to the zoo in Syracuse.  As frequent readers may recall each January the zoo holds a photo contest and I have been attempting to capture a winning image for a few years.  Typically, I forget about the contest and end up making a trip out at the last possible opportunity.  Usually I end up with crappy weather. Not this year!  I have enough time to make a couple more trips if I want.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash;

 

I plan on having a larger post showcasing the images I was able to capture. My problem at the moment is my PC died. I believe the SSD drive which is my boot drive failed. I’m looking at options now so I ended up working on my tablet. Not my full compliment of tools but the original file was not half bad to start with.

I’ll update as I work out a solution…

Going to the Zoo

Weekly Photo Theme – The Zoo

I found out a little late in the week that the local zoo is only open until 4:45pm. With me working until 4pm that just was not enough time to properly explore (little as it is). I had to drop my daughter off at a friends house early in the afternoon on Saturday and drove down to the zoo. I now remember why it has been so long since I last visited. It just doesn’t work for me. The fences are made of too large of wires to properly focus through them and there are only a handful of the animals visible without fences. It definitely did not hep my exploration going midday as quite of few of the animals were enjoying a siesta! I did manage to come away with a few worthy images. Next time though I will make the trip back to Syracuse.

Harv!  They're lookin' at us again... Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/500s, 58mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Harv! They’re lookin’ at us again…
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/500s, 58mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Undecided Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/320s, 56mm, f/8, ISO 200

Undecided
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/320s, 56mm, f/8, ISO 200

Is this all there is? Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/100s, 85mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Is this all there is?
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/100s, 85mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Grooming

This January marks the ninth year that the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY holds it’s Winter at the Zoo photo contest. Last year my daughter and I made the trip out to the zoo and had a great time visiting all the animals. It wasn’t the greatest day to be at the zoo but we had a great time.

I apparently have a bad knack for picking days to visit the zoo or I bring the bad weather with me. It was a cold, rainy day yesterday and we were only brave enough to visit the animals inside. I’ll have to make another trip back to Syracuse to hopefully get some more images.

Grooming Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/80s, 70mm, f/5.6, ISO 6400

Grooming
Golden Lion Tamarin
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/80s, 70mm, f/5.6, ISO 6400

Finally, the Zoo…

I finally managed to finish processing the images from my trip last month to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. A few of these have already made their way into blog posts but I wanted to include them here so everyone can enjoy the whole group. I managed to accumulate quite a few more images than I showcase here but these are my best from that day. Next time I will try using a circular polarizer to reduce any glare on the glass.

Anyone in the central NY area that is interested in visiting the zoo can check out all it has to offer here: Rosamond Gifford Zoo. I was very impressed with the zoo and will definitely be making additional trips out to visit. Maybe I’ll wait for spring so I can get some better outside images…

Waiting Snake (unsure species)

Waiting
Snake (unsure species)

Who me? Parrot

Who me?
Parrot

Chillin' African Lions

Chillin’
African Lions

Anticipation (Unsure)

Anticipation
(Unsure)

On Alert Squirrel Monkey

On Alert
Squirrel Monkey

Huddlin' Ring-Tailed Lemurs

Huddlin’
Ring-Tailed Lemurs

Hunter Broad Winged Hawk

Hunter
Broad Winged Hawk

Out for a Stroll Pebguin

Out for a Stroll
Pebguin

Contemplation Markhor

Contemplation
Markhor

Relaxin' Tigers

Relaxin’
Tigers

Family Asian Elephants

Family
Asian Elephants

I'm Watching Snow Leopard

I’m Watching
Snow Leopard

I’m Watching

Another image from my trip to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. The snow leopards where quite active so I had a chance for a few nice captures. Of course I wish the glass of the enclosure was a little cleaner… lol!

I'm WatchingNikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/50s, 200mm, f/8, ISO 400

I’m Watching
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/50s, 200mm, f/8, ISO 400

Contemplation

Thanks to a post earlier this week by Scott Thomas on his Views Infinitum blog (Familiar Faces) about the January photo contest at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY, I spent an enjoyable morning with my daughter exploring all the zoo has to offer. I hadn’t been to this zoo in 15 years but I think I was the biggest kid there!

Here is the first processed image from the day. A Markhor (Capra falconeri) contemplating either the weather or the view, he didn’t say what was on his mind…

Contemplation Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/1000s, 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 400

Contemplation
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/1000s, 200mm, f/5.6, ISO 400