Bookfool's Photoblog
Have we met?
Posted by Bookfool (Mississippi, United States) on 9 November 2008 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.
A curious giraffe at the zoo in Jackson, Mississippi. Not happy with the exposure on this one, but I like his expression.
Rich from Gray, United States
Nice capture. I like the beard, and the mane is awesome.
9 Nov 2008 5:28am
@Rich: Oh, ha, I hadn't noticed the beard! Thanks, Rich. :)
@Magda: Thank you, thank you and thank you. :)
bisha from Saitama, Japan
Sorry, I don't think we have. ;)
He does have a great expression- nice catch!
9 Nov 2008 6:33am
@bisha: Now you've met. Sort of. LOL Thanks, N.
Rich from Gray, United States
Bookfool, I have looked at this shot four or five times now. The subject is great... but, believe it or not, I like the background best. It is as if it was painted back there, Claude Monet style. I bet I could try a thousand shots and not come up with that. I sure wish the camera setting info was accurate on this page... as I really like how this shot 'works'.
9 Nov 2008 11:11am
@Rich: Well, Rich, I'll just look up the correct info and tell you. The reason that background is so nicely blurred is that I used a 500mm -- that much I know (and, obviously, we had some lovely autumn color). The shutter speed and aperture are correct: 1/1250 at F/8.0. I had the ISO set at 800, for some reason. Maybe he was in the shade, at some point. Shockingly, I took this photo hand-held. I should have been a surgeon, but . . . yuck. Forget that. ;)
Jeff from Pembroke Dock, United Kingdom
Brilliant !! I cant tell you what I think its saying,its to rude...But you are being asked to go away. ;>))
9 Nov 2008 11:29am
@Jeff: Hahaha! Thanks, Jeff. Actually, I think he was really curious. When we first arrived at the giraffe display, that one came running. I had to wait till he became a little discouraged and walked away to get more than an eyeball because of my whopper lens and then he kept glancing back like, "Sure you don't want to be my best buddy?"
Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal
Wow, nice portrait, its like posing for you. You got a great model there.
9 Nov 2008 11:36am
@Ana Lúcia: I do believe this fellow was either posing or just waiting for me to say, "All right, come over and I'll feed you. We'll be best friends." He was tremendously friendly. Thanks! :)
Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada
Oh Book, sweety, how can you say that, it's absolutely gorgeous, she is so beautiful and detailed and the bokeh is just plain fantastic ! You cannot say bad things about such a photo, it's not allowed ;)
9 Nov 2008 11:36am
@Lorraine: Well, thank you, Lorraine. I thought her face was a little overexposed, but I looked at another frame that was exposed a little different and decided it's actually the better of the two. So, maybe I should just shush, eh? LOL Thanks!!
rose and photography from France
Beautiful giraffe ! Nice capture ! I like ths look ! surprised ?
9 Nov 2008 11:44am
@rose and photography: Thank you! Could be surprise! This giraffe was a really curious one -- possibly watching me to see if I was going to come over and play or bring her some food. :)
Richard_Irwin from Belper, United Kingdom
What a great capture, love the expression you caught. These shots demand to be captioned and turned into postcards, you could make a fortune.
9 Nov 2008 12:40pm
@Richard_Irwin: Thank you! Isn't that a cute expression? Oh, gosh, wouldn't that be nice . . . I could stand a fortune. ;)
Earnest from Oklahoma, United States
Great shot... I've seen this expression on a lot of people's faces..
9 Nov 2008 1:30pm
@Earnest: Thanks! Yeah, that's probably the expression I get whenever someone pulls in front of me on the road, at the last minute. We get that a lot. LOL
Les from Lincoln, United States
Excuse me, but I think National Geographic is calling you! I'm not sure why you're unhappy with the exposure. I love this shot and echo everyone's comments about the bokeh. Fantastic detail, gorgeous Impressionistic background. Five stars, girlfriend!
9 Nov 2008 5:16pm
@Les: Oh, um, I wish. LOL I thought it was a little overexposed in the white areas. Otherwise, it's my favorite of the giraffe photos I took, last week. Thank you muchly, Les! :)
jamesy from christchurch, New Zealand
I love this Nancy particularily the look on his face and thebokeh with all the little circles (or so it seems) just stunning
9 Nov 2008 8:26pm
@jamesy: Thank you, Debbie! I'm rather fond of the expression. All those little circles are leaves. Our autumn color is at its peak -- we're having an unusually colorful year, for our area. :)
Pixim from Nice, France
Whouaww, that this giraffe is well shooted. I acknowledge that I am impressed by this focal distance of 750mm, and understands better this famous bokeh about of which everyone speaks. In all the cases, a very beautiful animalist photograph ;)
9 Nov 2008 8:51pm
@Pixim: Merci beaucoup! The focal length is actually wrong -- I just got a 500mm lens and that's what I was using, at the time. :)
*Rich* from Stafford, United Kingdom
Regarding the exposure, I shoot most of my pics in RAW so the exposure can be changed later if not happy with it.
Great picture as ever!!
9 Nov 2008 10:20pm
@*Rich*: I'm totally new to shooting in RAW, but I did a little that day -- mostly the leopards and flamingos. We're still working on figuring out the software, here, so I've only looked at them briefly. I'm not kidding when I say I've got a lot to learn!! Thanks, Rich!
willow from Chelsea, United States
love it! Giraffe eyes always look so soft and gentle. Love the background.
9 Nov 2008 11:03pm
@willow: Thank you! That's a great way to describe the giraffe's eyes -- "soft and gentle". I agree. They have a kind look, don't they? Many thanks!
KZC from Sydney, Australia
What a fantastic shot - I love these big guys... I remember when I was in Kenya in the early 1990s - I made the mistake of saying to my wife (ex) that I liked Giraffes... Well 8 rolls of film later I found out she liked taking photos of them - I think she was trying to impress. It was my mistake for taking control of the video camera.
But none are as good as the one you have above.
9 Nov 2008 11:42pm
@KZC: Thank you! What a great story!! Giraffes are loads of fun to watch, aren't they? I'm so envious of you, getting to see them in the wild. We're able to get so close to them at our zoo that I've seen one munch a leaf just feet from a small child standing at the fence, so I almost feel like taking photos of giraffes at our zoo is cheating. LOL
Sony DSLR-A700
1/1250 second
F/8.0
ISO 800
750 mm (35mm equiv.)