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robbobert β€” Yellow

Published: 2006-03-15 21:53:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 1001; Favourites: 32; Downloads: 78
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Description This is the first of about 30 pictures I'll be submitting soon. Unfortunately, I won't submit anymore until Sunday because all of my pictures are on my computer, and for some reason I can't get it online here at home. On Sunday I'll be going back to school from Spring Break, so I'll submit from school.

The Houston Zoo was...interesting to say the least. It definitely has the potential to be an amazing zoo, but as it is, it's more for looking than photographing. They have lots of plexiglass, which would be a wonderful thing if it wasn't all fogged/scratched/grubbed up. The cougar's exhibit was almost invisible behind the blue haze of the glass, so I didn't get any decent pictures there. The same went for the snow leopard, tiger, jaguar, and lion, but I managed to get a shot of the lion and several of the tiger. Frustrating, no doubt. Also, all of the small cats (ocelot, black leopard, caracal, and margay) were behind thickly meshed bars, so I didn't get any pictures of them. Not to mention, the caracal wasn't even out for the entire day. Also, the zoo was jam packed full of people, so I found myself jockeying for position wherever I went. Still, I got some good shots, and I had fun. I saw my first real life tapir, orangutan, meerkat, koala, and mandrill, so that was pretty cool. Overall, a pretty good zoo. If only they would replace their plexiglass, it would be an ubelievable place, but as it is, I much prefer the San Antonio Zoo.
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Comments: 31

meihua [2010-12-13 09:53:44 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful shot! I think a lot of zoos cater more toward the general public than photographers. Although, to be honest, if all zoos had clean glass, all the visitors would enjoy it more, not just the photographers

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robbobert In reply to meihua [2010-12-14 10:13:11 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. One of the difficulties, especially in a city like Houston, is that once you get the clean [expensive] glass up, people come and graffiti it/key it/grub it up. As do the animals ([link] ). Not to mention, Houston is so humid that that stuff starts warping the instant it gets put in place. As much as zoos have to crunch their budgets, I think new glass isn't always at the top of the list. Which sucks for me. ;_;

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DuckOfDeath [2010-12-13 04:49:06 +0000 UTC]

It would be good if you could send this shot to the zoo. Their herp staff need to take a look at this snake. Unless he had just finished swallowing a meal, or yawning, that bulging-jawed gap in his mouth is a bad sign. That usually indicates an infection called mouthrot. It's easily cured if caught early, but very bad if not. We can hope it's nothing but a yawn.

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robbobert In reply to DuckOfDeath [2010-12-14 10:08:56 +0000 UTC]

And it occurs to me now that this is not the San Antonio Zoo. The SA Zoo does have an Aruba Island Rattlesnake as well, but it isn't this guy. I can't speak for Houston's herp department, but they're one of the bigger zoos in Texas, so I would *still* think they'd have caught it in time.

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DuckOfDeath In reply to robbobert [2010-12-15 03:04:30 +0000 UTC]

We can hope. They probably would, but even the pros miss things, at times.

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robbobert In reply to DuckOfDeath [2010-12-14 10:05:55 +0000 UTC]

Hmm I never noticed that. Being that I took this almost five years ago, I would imagine that if it was mouth rot, it's probably already been caught or has taken its course. The San Antonio Zoo is pretty good about keeping track of their animals, so I think they probably caught it.

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DuckOfDeath In reply to robbobert [2010-12-15 03:03:47 +0000 UTC]

Ah. I didn't realize it was an old shot. And, hopefully, they caught and treated it, if that's what it was. It's not always easy to spot, especially in a venomous species, where looking in its mouth is a risky proposition. But, we'll hope for the best.

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ewm [2006-07-22 23:14:51 +0000 UTC]

Nice shot! I love the textures on snakes especially the lighter color ones like this one. Taking photos of snakes has grown on me. I'm not sure what species this is do you know. It almost looks like a Neo-Tropical Rattlesnake? [link] <- thats a Neo-Tropical. If you ever get the chance I would suggest getting a macro around the 100 focal length its awesome to use for close ups of the snakes through glass.

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robbobert In reply to ewm [2006-07-23 01:53:47 +0000 UTC]

This is an Aruba Island Rattlesnake. Having forgotten the name once after leaving the zoo and then having to go back to check the name again, I will never forget the name "Aruba Island Rattlesnake." I would like to get a macro lens at some point, but right now, a super-telephoto lens is higher on my priority list. Although it is kinda hard to take a picture of a snake with a 300mm lens from across the room, hoping that people don't walk in front of you.

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DuckOfDeath In reply to robbobert [2010-12-13 04:46:17 +0000 UTC]

Ah, but the beauty of the 300mm is that you can put a cheapo extension tube on it and voila! you have an amazing macro lens AND an awesome tele. Because extension tubes don't have lenses of their own, they don't degrade the image quality at all.

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ewm In reply to robbobert [2006-07-23 05:37:36 +0000 UTC]

Aha well then I was reallllly close! The Aruba Island Rattlesnake used to be concerned as a subspecies of the Neo-tropical Here is more information on your snake [link] and I've got a photo of this species as well

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robbobert In reply to ewm [2006-07-23 06:30:41 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. I was thinking you had a picture of this species of snake in your gallery, but I wasn't too sure. I didn't know they were considered a subspecies, but they do kinda bear a resemblance, now that I've seen the Neotropical one. Of course considering how much I know about snakes, they all kinda look the same to me.

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ewm In reply to robbobert [2006-07-23 14:44:46 +0000 UTC]

I think they were considered a subspecies at one time but I think they are considered seperate now.

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Fleetfire [2006-03-26 23:48:22 +0000 UTC]

Oooh rawr, what a beautiful snake. I like the way the head is nice and focused in the center, with a nice look at that eye. Nice shot.

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EfiWild [2006-03-17 20:10:10 +0000 UTC]

Great textures job

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robbobert In reply to EfiWild [2006-03-19 20:19:07 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. With snakes, texture is no problem. But I really do like the texture of his scales.

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91stang [2006-03-16 15:05:30 +0000 UTC]

ok, gotta ask - through a window? assuming so, what did you do to remove glare, reflection, et al?

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robbobert In reply to 91stang [2006-03-16 22:57:55 +0000 UTC]

Well, lucky for me the glass on this cage was crystal clear, so I didn't have to worry about any of that. AS for glare and the such, well... I just didn't use flash. Flash at the zoo is evil. Also, the room was dark except for the light in the exhibit, so reflections weren't a problem.

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91stang In reply to robbobert [2006-03-17 12:59:31 +0000 UTC]

Cool. I'm anticipating going to the Columbus Zoo soon, and wanted to prepare myself... I can do the outside animals fairly well, but your stuff is so good, I wanted to know if you had any tricks... Thanks for the reply!

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robbobert In reply to 91stang [2006-03-19 20:51:49 +0000 UTC]

Tricks.... For me, the only trick is the brace myself. Inside shots are usually at a slower shutter speed, so blur is more likely (added to the problems caused by using a long lensβ€”I took this picture with my 300mm lens). Since I don't use flash, I brace the camera up against my body (or a wall or whatever I can find), and I try to take the picture in between heartbeats, since even a heartbeat can cause camera blur at low S.S. That's about it. The rest is just luck for me. I have good luck.

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91stang In reply to robbobert [2006-03-20 17:12:14 +0000 UTC]

We'll see if some of your luck rubs off on me when I get there! I'm also going to the butterfly exhibit the following day... that should be very interesting...

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robbobert In reply to 91stang [2006-03-20 23:25:45 +0000 UTC]

Ughh, butterflies... lol You're on your own there. I tried to photograph them at our zoo once. Needless to say, the results were...disasstrous. Of course, I take forever to focus (manual focus) and get my exposure, so maybe I'm just too slow. Good luck either way.

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91stang In reply to robbobert [2006-03-21 13:01:24 +0000 UTC]

I said I was going to TRY, that doesn't mean I'll succeed. I'll be going with six kids (at least) ranging in age from 2 months to 9 years. I don't imagine that there'll be much STILLNESS anywhere in my vicinity!

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gokuyert [2006-03-16 08:18:52 +0000 UTC]

well you got a great shot here, and the inclusion of the rock in the frame makes it a lot more believable that it is in its natural habitat, not inside a cage

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robbobert In reply to gokuyert [2006-03-16 23:08:17 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. I guess the rock was kinda happenstance. I mean, the snake was there, and he wasn't moving, so it just kinda happened that way. But yeah, i think it helps the picture out too. Glad you like it.

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Hekssoster [2006-03-15 23:19:26 +0000 UTC]

Yea!!! Your back and loaded with new pics. Too bad about the dirty glass.
But I just know you found a way to catch some awesome shots. Can't wait to see them. This one is a great close-up.

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robbobert In reply to Hekssoster [2006-03-16 01:03:51 +0000 UTC]

I definitely got some good shots. It's just that they weren't of the expected animals. I expected to go and take a roll full of caracal and ocelots, but I came back with a roll full of meerkats and orangutans. But I kinda like that fact that I'll finally be able to submit more to my gallery than just a bunch of wildcats. Not that they're bad or anything, but they do get a little old after 100 or so submissions.

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furryphotos [2006-03-15 23:11:31 +0000 UTC]

Pretty well tken even though the glass

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robbobert In reply to furryphotos [2006-03-16 01:04:43 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. The snakes in the reptile house probably had the best glass in the zoo, so that could account for the clarity.

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DilligentDreamer [2006-03-15 22:12:31 +0000 UTC]

wow, amazing detail! was this taken through glass? I am humbled by your taking-pictures-through-glass ability!

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robbobert In reply to DilligentDreamer [2006-03-16 03:46:06 +0000 UTC]

Well thank you. I like to think that my taking-pictures-through-glass ability is decent. Truth be told, the glass in front of this guy was crystal clear, so it wasn't really a problem. You'll see what dirty glass looks like when I upload my cougar pictures.

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