Chester Zoo Photography at Chester

Javan Rhino

Javan Rhino

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Heya all, I was just wondering if anybody could tell me how to get the best animal photos at Chester. I have a Canon 350D with a standard lens to about 55mm and a 55mm-200mm zoom lens.

My main question is the best time to photograph each animal, trying to get it when they are outside (it doesn't cope to well through glass unless you can get the lighting right). My main problems are seeing the Orangs outside and getting photos of the bats without a flash. Any tips grateful :)

Thanks
 
Javan Rhino said:
My main problems are seeing the Orangs outside :)
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Many Apes in zoos, particularly Gorillas but also Orangutans, feel 'safer' in their covered indoor areas, and only make short excursions outdoors from time to time. I noticed it with Chester's orangutans on my only visit to see RORA, and it seems there's not much change. Each time you will get a few minutes opportunity while one moves around outdoors and then heads back inside.
 
Ahh cool, I've heard that it can be beneficial to go in a morning straight after the zoo opens, but I think this is just to beat the massive crowds that form there :)
 
Javan Rhino said:
Ahh cool, I've heard that it can be beneficial to go in a morning straight after the zoo opens, but I think this is just to beat the massive crowds that form there :)
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Yes it is mainly because of that. But if the Orangs are shut indoors at night(I don't know if they are or not) you may also find they go outside first thing to check any overnight changes to the enclosure e.g. to forage any stuff blown down they can eat, and so spend a bit longer outside than later on. That's just a possibility though.
 
Javan Rhino firstly welcome to Zoochat.

Tips for photographs are :-

For the jaguars especially Pele the melanistic jaguar visit first thing in the morning or just before feeding time. Pele likes to find his food an eat it sat ontop of a rock the jaguars are usually fed around 12pm but the days vary to simulate a more natural feeding pattern.

As has been mention before for the Orang as early as possible is the best time to catch them and if trying to take pictures through the glass try and get your lense as close as possible to the glass when you take the picture.

For the spectacled bears the best times are again first thing in the morning or latter in the afternoon but you can sometimes get lucky and get them either in the water or ontop of the hill.

The tigers can be really difficult to spot at times let alone photograph but ive found they like to spend time sat on the platform opposite the viewing window quite a lot lately so in my opinion that would be my best bet to get a decent pic of them. But you will have to be very patient.

The Lions are usually easy to photograph aslong as your lense can get through the enclosure fencing. Iblis seems to enjoy sitting against the indoor enclosure wall earlier in the day then moving onto the platform with asha later in the afternoon.

Elephants are currently indoor at the moment as the outdoor enclosure is being renovated but you can still can get some ok pics of them inside.

Some of the easier animals to photograph are the Red Panda, Kangaroo, Chimpanzee's when outside, Giraffe and Rhino.

Hope this helps :)
 
Cheers :D. I will definately try to get some good shots of these. I have a few pics on Highlands and Chester galleries at the moment, and hope to get some of my Edinburgh ones up tomorrow :). Will also post some more Chester ones.
 
Javan Rhino said:
Is the calf late july? Didn't know that. Would it be on show pretty soon after birth or do the elephants have any off-show areas?
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The first calf is due sometime next month although I don't know the exact date. The elephants do have off show area's and the zoo can close the house should it be needed. I think it's Sithami first and then Thi?
 
Ahhh cool, I hope all goes well for them both :). Never take much time to see the elephants, so I think they may be a focal point on my next visit, especially if they are back outside.
 
Welcome to ZooChat. I, too, will be making my first trip to Chester Zoo this September, so it is a timely topic for me.

Not sure how much general photographic knowledge you have, but here are a couple tips which you may or may not already know.

1) Carry a black cloth (I use a black napkin) to shade reflections off glass.

2) To blur out fences and backgrounds, use your longest lens (200mm on your telephoto zoom) and your largest aperture, which you can do either in manual mode (M) or aperture value mode (AV) on the top dial. The largest aperture is the smallest number, I believe 5.6 on your lens. In either M or AV, just turn the top dial as the numbers get smaller until they won't go any lower - that is your largest aperture.

3) Put the lens on Manual Focus when shooting through fences, to keep the camera from trying to focus on the fence in front. This is the M on the lens itself, which is different than the M on the camera dial (which is manual exposure, not manual focus).
 
Hi there welcome to zoochat just a quick tip

Turn off your flash when photographing through glass
and if you have a lens hood (fits on the end of the lens) then if you can place this against the window (without upsetting the subject) it will decrease the chance of any reflections in the glass
 
Javan Rhino, I have the 300D and the same lenses, you can get some great shots of most of the animal throughout the zoo. The most difficult ones are the Lions and the Tigers. As Arizona Docent has said use the manual focus on the lenses. Although I have found that I haven't had to modify the Aperture.

I'll mess around a bit more next week, when the wife and I will be there for a couple of days during the week.
 
With large zooms, the rule is generally to get as close to the wire as possible, use the smallest aperture you have for the minimum DOF and use most or all of the zoom. To combat reflections, a polarising filter helps with the outdoor enclosures, but you will lose at least one stop of light (often depending on how much you've paid for the filter).

For photo ops, late afternoon works well in the Tsavo African Aviary as the sun is in the best spot, for monkey islands because the troops tend to venture out, and the lions as the corner of East Zoo empties first and they like to sit on the platform. The bears and coatis are both tricky, they tend to have some enrichment after about 2pm and that's a good time to wander by but be prepared to have to visit more than once, be patient and scan the enclosure for wobbling bushes.

Depending on the day of your visit, the feeding of the birds in the Tropical Real is worth a look, although you'll need a fairly high ISO as it's darker in there than you'd think.

The lar gibbons like early morning and are often on top of their polls then. Penguin feeding is another highlight, but watch out for marauding herons and gulls.

Your only real option - other than flash - with the bats is to find one sitting still and use a tripod and long exposure. A Gorillapod is a handy addition to a kit bag if you don't want to carry a proper tripod. Watch out for pesky kids knocking it over though.
 
We noticed last year, the staff don't give you time to set up for a photo, especially around the walk-through cave. They were constantly trying to move people on. It was as though they did not want anyone to stop and enjoy the sight of the animals flying around.

In three years, we have only ever managed to catch sight of the Coatis' once. That was mid afternoon, they were sleeping in the tree.
 
You can catch the odd glimpse of the coatis with a pair of binoculars or a 400mm lens, and very occasionally when the group moves to the trees on the right of the enclosure.

The coatis were one of my favourite exhibits at the zoo, I still haven't fathomed out why they had to move. Does anyone know? Sure, a mixed exhibit is often beneficial, but they're now all but invisible.
 
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