Black & White Nature Challenge

My selection of nature photos which I have rendered in "Black & White" reached "All-Star" level in the Gurushots Black & White Nature Challenge.  Below are my entrees.

TetonView-bw

JennyLake2-bw

YoungBaldEagleBW

BlackBear

Meerkat

Shot this photo of a Meerkat in the Desert Dome at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  March 16, 2015

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/80 sec  Aperture Priority 200.0mm  ISO 800 (wrong setting on the camera of -2.00 EB bias)  Processed from RAW by Photoshop Elements 11,  stylized with Topaz Glow

Red Macaw TG

Shot this photo of a Macaw in the Leid Jungle at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  March 16, 2015

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/80 sec  Aperture Priority 125.0mm  ISO 1250   Processed from RAW by Photoshop Elements 11,  stylized with Topaz Glow

Canna Bloom BW

Orange Canna bloom photographed at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  Grayscale rendition.   August 1, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 60mm macro lens  f/9.0 at 1/200 sec  Aperture Priority  60.0mm   ISO 320  Exposure Bias -1.00   Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw converted to grayscale and finished with Photoshop Elements 11 

American Black Bear

Another trip to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.  Captured this shot of one of the Black Bears in Bear Canyon.  August 1, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/7.1 at 1/200 sec  Aperture Priority  200.0mm   ISO 500   Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and converted to grayscale and finished with Photoshop Elements 11 

Gorilla in the Tree

This gorilla seems to be holding court on a tree in Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's Gorilla House   July 3, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/125 sec  Aperture Priority  125.0mm   ISO 1600  Exposure Bias 0.33   Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 11 

Orange Canna

Orange Canna bloom at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.   July 3, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/5.0 at 1/60 sec  Aperture Priority  67.0mm   ISO 200  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 11 

Ring Tailed Lemur

Ring Tailed Lemurs like to bask in the heat of morning sun.  Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo   July 3, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/60 sec  Aperture Priority  200.0mm  Exposure bias 0.33  ISO 1600  Processed from RAW, tonemapped by HDR Darkroom 2 Pro, and finished with Photoshop Elements 11

Spotted Leopard

Spotted Leopard in the Cat House at Omaha's Zoo.   July 3, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/100 sec  Aperture Priority  200.0mm  Exposure bias -2.00  ISO 1600  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 11

Exposure bias was set in error as the camera was still set up for taking 3 bracketed exposures.  Thanks to also shooting RAW, I was able to recover this image.

Two Yellow Lilies

The Zoo is a great place to hone photography skills.  Here's a shot of two Yellow Lily blooms at the Omaha Zoo   July 3, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/13.0 at 1/160 sec  Aperture Priority  125.0mm   ISO 200  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 11 

Shooting at the Zoo

It had been nearly 10 years since I visited the Zoo here in Omaha.  Bought a Zoo membership this Winter, figuring to get out when weather is not good for bike riding.  It would also give me a chance to hone my photography skills.

I did not want to overload myself with gear, so only brought my Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens, a spare battery and cleared SD card.  In my 2 1/2 hour walk in sections of the zoo, I got a good feeling for the versatility of the camera/lens combo.

Desert Dome, March 19, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/8.0 at 1/320 sec  Aperture Priority  22.0mm  ISO 100  Three bracketed exposures (+2.0, 0.0, -2.0 EV) Processed from RAW by HDR Darkroom 2 Pro with finishing with Photoshop Elements 9


A real challenge was shooting in the Aquarium.  Issues with low light, moving subjects, and shooting through glass were on my mind.  I did have some problems, but was still able to get some good shots.

Jelly Fish,  Scott Aquarium,  March 19, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/40 sec  Aperture Priority  35.0mm  ISO 3200  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 9 

Gorilla, Hubbard Gorilla Valley.  March 19, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/60 sec  Aperture Priority  42.0mm  ISO 250  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 9

I had started in the Desert Dome but did not take many photos there as much of the dome is under reconstruction.  However, I was able to use the telephoto section of the lens in that dome for the shot below.

 Rabbit/Hare in the Desert Dome,  March 19, 2014

Canon EOS 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens  f/6.3 at 1/250 sec  Aperture Priority  200.0mm  ISO 400  Processed from RAW by Adobe Camera Raw and finished with Photoshop Elements 9.

All-in-all, it was a successful day scoping out the zoo and verifying equipment needed.  My only disappointment was the Lied Jungle. Since it was a cool day outside and with the humidity in the jungle, I gave up.  It just took too long to get the camera and lens temperature stabilized.  Will have to wait until warmer weather.  Also looking forward shooting some of the flora when they come into bloom.