Birds Eye View

[Adamo]

Took a thousand shots at the zoo and this is the the only one I liked. What do you think?

[jetrim]

Zoos are tough because of the very limited background choices. Love the bird, not as crazy about the chain link fence. If you are good with photoshop you might try replacing that section of background, but it's a difficult job. You could also possibly crop in from the top and right to minimize it's impact on the scene.

[gahspidy]

Adamo, I also find the background to be distracting but your framing is good and your focus seems to be right on the eye which is also good.
As Jet stated, Zoo's are tough in that the animal environments are usally small and with distracting backgrounds.
The light is also a bit harsh and so waiting to go on somewhat overcast days are usually best for photographing.

[Adamo]

Thanks, Jet and Gary. I never realized just how tough zoo's were. You are very right, its the background. I looked back at all my shots and the fences and such were why I didn't like the shots. I didn't even realize the chain link fence was noticeable, and now its all I see. Thanks for that

[AmyF]

That's a really nice picture - I love the detail in the bird. What kind of bird is that, anyway? I had the same issue when we went to the zoo earlier this year - took tons of pictures and only liked a couple of them.

[Adamo]

Amy,

I am embarrassed to say that I don’t know what kind of bird this is. I was actually at the zoo with my daughter (3 years old) which limits my time at each exhibit. Luckily, she has a small digital camera herself and loves to take pictures as well, but when she is done, so am I. We go often, so I will make it a point to find out, unless someone out there knows.

Gary/Jet,

Something I realized while looking back at the photo, on the full size image, the fence isn’t as noticeable. When I look at the resized version on this thread it is all I see, but when I look at the full size its barely noticeable. Well, it is now, thanks to you pointing it out