Austin Zoo (and tryout of new Sigma 100-300 f/4)

[priller]

Here are just a few of the many, many photos I took today at the Austin Zoo. Although it's not so much a zoo as it is an animal rescue sanctuary. They basically take in mistreated or unwanted animals from individuals or other smaller zoos. Over the years it has really grown and now houses a pretty impressive array of exotic animals.

This is the first time I've gone to it. One nice thing is the animals are fairly close to you. The bad thing, especially for photographers, is that most of the animals are in cages or behind fences with pretty small openings. If I could get my lens right up to the fence, then usually I could avoid it, but many times I couldn't.

And speaking of the lens, I was using my brand new Sigma 100-300 f/4. It's big. It's heavy. It takes great photos. I'm very happy with the results.

Oh yeah, another funny thing I noticed is the big lens gets respect. At least 3 times other people with little digicams said, "I'm not in your way, am I?", and other times they just silently moved out of the way. Ha!


The peacock was not in a cage, it just wandered the zoo. I was lucky enough that this male was trying to scare off a cat. It spread the feathers all the way out, then shook another set of feathers behind them to make this rustling sound. It was very interesting to watch.




The female peacock. Probably has that sour look because she doesn't have all the awesome feathers the male has.




I took about 25 photos of this very handsome Bengal tiger and almost all of them turned out well. This was my favorite.




A few photos where I couldn't avoid the cage bars. Here's a ring tailed lemur and a sad monkey. The washed-out looking lower part of the monkey photo is caused by the cage wire very close to the lens.

[Maestro]

1. Very nice captures!

That peacock is beautiful and in your last pic, it looks like the money is upset. It has a very melancholic expression. Congrats on your new lens.

[NV Whino]

2. Beautiful shots

I know you would rather have photos without the cage, but I think the cage really adds to that shot of the lemur. Both peacocks are spectacular.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. The peacock doesn't even look real...

Beautiful shots.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. I think you've earned back the price of the lens already.

Maybe not in cash, but in aesthetic satisfaction. Great photos. Any of them could go on a wall anywhere and stop traffic.

[priller]

5. Here's another peacock shot

Shows you just how long these feathers are. Now this one looks a bit unreal to me:

[intheflow]

6. This does look unreal!

What a spectacular photo! I particularly like the green/yellow feathers behind his brilliant blue body. I also really love the tiger photo in your OP. Wonderful clarity and detail--a very handsome representation of a very handsome species.