Zoo: Part Four, Miscreants

This last batch of pictures that I took at the zoo is of other random animals that I didn't spend all that much time shooting.  I enjoy them and I'm glad that my zoom lens was able to pick out some of the cool details like the thousands of little ridges on the elephant's skin or the green stain of leaves round the mouth of an Aldabra Giant Tortoise.  

All in, this was a really good lesson for me.  I tend to spend too long waiting for a moment and end up missing good shots because I have an idea of how things "should" look in my head.  I'm not very impulsive, but in this area, I should be.  

I love the pygmy hippos and how ridiculous they look.  One of my favourite things about the Singapore Zoo is that because visiting it is such a childhood rite of passage, we grow up with the animals.  When I was a kid, Gambir the elephant had just been born.  And the pygmy hippo exhibit had a new baby which came up to his mother's knees.  Now the hippos are the same size!

This black crowned crane picture is a great example of my problem with speed.  In the viewfinder, his head was in perfect focus and because I waited a moment too long, he shifted and his feathers moved into stark relief instead.  It's not a horrible photo, but it's not what I wanted and it's a pity because the light was shining beautifully on his golden mane.

As my father says, shooting birds and insects takes the most skill.

Inuka was flat out snoozing when we went by his new enclosure.  Edie expressed her solidarity outside instead.

 At the long end of the zoom, I'm noticing quite a lot of what looks like purple fringing outside the focus point.  Damn zebras! 

Giraffes are cool and all, but you haven't visited the zoo until you've seen a giant beast unleash a stream of pee into hot, frothy bubbles.  That went on for well over a minute, no lie.

I've had a soft spot for babirusas since I found out that their canines grow through their skin.  When we got to this exhibit, there was a man with a camera actually throwing things at the hog and trying to get it to look up.  Edie and I glared at him and I said, purely out of reflex, "What the hell?"  He cringed and slunk away into the crowd.  Children, don't throw things at animals.  I mean, come on.

Another funny moment: Edie read this sign and waved me over.  We stared at it for a moment and then just burst out laughing.  Yum!  Anus food!

And of course, the two biggest miscreants at the zoo that day.  Thanks for the outing, Eddie!