Travel Photography: Animals

Domestic animals, both household pets and farm-working animals, are some subjects which are not photographed all that often any more. However, sometimes the scene is just so memorable, you just have to get a photograph. And the zoos and aquariums are also wonderful opportunistic places.

For animals especially, the best viewpoint is pushed back a little bit so you can see some of the surrounding scenery and identify the place in your photograph. Dogs, cows, camels, llamas, and buffalo are all good subjects in this case.

For wildlife, however, the secret to their best photographs is getting as close as possible to make recognizable and dramatic compositions. A long lens, perhaps as high as 600mm, would be a great asset to your collection.

Make sure your cameras are set before you compose your photograph. Animals might be more used to people, but they won't stand around waiting for you to set up every little detail.

Even though zoos and aquariums aren't out in the wild, you can still get some wonderful photographs of animals you might not get to see otherwise. And you won't need such long lenses either.

Sometimes it's interesting to put the animal inside the obvious enclosure, and other times it's better to put it in views that don;t allow their enclosures to be seen.

Aquariums, and the zoo's reptile glass enclosures, do have two problems you won't find outside. The dark lighting and the thick glass. Flash will only be reflected, so that won't work. If you have an SLR (single lens reflex) camera, however, someone can hold a flash against the glass, and you can put your lens right up to the glass.

Incidentally, the times when most animals are most active are early and late in the day, and just before feeding times.

Whether the animals are in a distant state, or a nearby country, you will need to make some travel arrangement first. Why not book it at www.kingarthur.myttn.com and save a few dollars for feed money?