Alaska Zoo - polar bear

When taking pics of zoo animals (and “taking” is the only word: you don’t “make” them, you “take” what you can get, barring intimate access), there’s a constant struggle with glass, fences, etc. The question then arises: how do you get around the things that interfere with the picture?

As an example, look at this post. This is from the Seward Sea Life center, and there’s a decided green cast. Moreover, there’s low contrast (and what little is there has been amplified in Photoshop). Compare that to the picture to the right: looks like there was nothing in the way whatsoever.

The difference? Technique.

In the latter case, the F/stop has been deliberately held to a wide-open margin, and the camera is close to the glass. Did I say glass? I meant multiple panes of glass with a large barrier in between.  Yes, plenty of detail-losing, color-skewing glass.  All made irrelevant by a combination of factors.

To pull this off, I got as close to the glass as possible (in a low-defect/not very dirty area).  I then stopped down the aperture as wide as I could (f/5.6, in this case).  The closer I am to the glass, the less aperture matters.  I stepped into manual focus (keeps autofocus from accidentaly grabbing the glass), and shot away.

Or rather, I waited until this guy stopped pooping.  Seriously, it was disgusting.  I ended up with this one shot.