Light and shadows in New Zealand

B Cole Coromandel Dawn 2010

B Cole Coromandel Sunrise 2010

B Cole Nga Taki Coastline 2010

B Cole Agathis Australis 2010

B Cole Stoney Bay Silhouette 2010

Zoo expedition

Last weekend James and I visited Taronga Zoo. It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to have some fun with my camera!

<-- This little guy was in the reptile house and was particularly photogenic. Even though the picture was taken through glass, I thought it turned out pretty well. I love the way the light accentuates his beautiful colouring and the texture of his scales. I especially love the contrast effect in the photo between his colours and the drab background behind him. Definitely one of my favourites of the day.

I was using my telephoto lens (focal length 55-200), I didn't want to carry around my other lens because we did a lot of walking! But I wasn't really restricted by it because i could zoom in nice and close on a lot of the animals. The only bad thing was I couldn't take photos of things that were actually within about a metre, eg, James, unless I walked backwards a bit. I ran into a few people doing this!

This picture of a pelican is also one of my favourites, the light and the framing and well, the pelican, all did it for me!

Couldn't resist the lure of the zebra. He is just so beautiful, and so easy to get a nice photo of. Especially against the dark background his stripes are so amazing!

Loved the expression on this guy's face!

My two turkeys!

Taking a photo of fish underwater was ridiculously difficult. Trying to get around the reflection I took quite a few duds. But I actually really like this one! It's almost like the fish is looking at us. Love the colour!

Again, through the glass, it's difficult to get a good texture and contrast. But i still like this guy.

Cliche photo of Sydney but it was just such a perfect Saturday that it needed to be posted.

Pretty classic photo of a meerkat. So cute!

I especially like the detail the camera captured in the timber. Nicely defined against the background.

We saw the elephant presentation where the trainers showed off the elephants doing their tricks. One of my favourite parts of the day definitely! Nothing spectacular in a photographic sense, but how amazing is the elephant?!

I'm annoyed at myself because i let a tiny part of a fence post get in the shot. Otherwise though, I love this! He looks so bemused. Love the lines and the light around his horns. Animals are just so photogenic!

It was a really great day, I got some really nice photos and had a lot of fun playing with my camera, and the animals were spectacular! What more could you ask for?

Zetetic

Zetetic is investigation and inquiry. Over the coming months i'll be exploring different photographic techniques and learning by doing. I'm going to be taking photos of everything! From animals to food to people, to anything that i think looks pretty! Ready? Go.
It was not dogmatic and scholastic, but zetetic and critical: it did not seek to lay down and inculcate ready-made philosophical doctrine, but to afford direction to investigation and independent thought.
-- Friedrich Paulsen, James Edwin Creighton, AlbertLefevre, Immanuel Kant, his life and doctrine