# A few from the trip to the local zoo



## jake337 (Jul 14, 2014)




----------



## mmaria (Jul 15, 2014)

why did you choose bw?


----------



## gsgary (Jul 15, 2014)

Why did you chose wildlife forum


----------



## mmaria (Jul 15, 2014)

................


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

gsgary said:


> Why did you chose wildlife forum



Point me towards the zoo forum.


----------



## pjaye (Jul 15, 2014)

I really like the zebra one.


----------



## Braineack (Jul 15, 2014)

who cares, the monkey shot is f'n GREAT.


----------



## gsgary (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> Point me towards the zoo forum.



General forum


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

gsgary said:


> General forum



Good call, good call.


----------



## Braineack (Jul 15, 2014)

it'll be weird when all your zoo shots end up in general and _everyone_ else's are in wildlife...


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

Braineack said:


> it'll be weird when all your zoo shots end up in general and _everyone_ else's are in wildlife...


That's where mine will always end up.  If the powers that be , you know, the folks that actually administer the forum, request I move them I will, until then they'll be posted in wildlife.


----------



## dolina (Jul 15, 2014)

Wonderful stills jake. the monochrome treatment works.


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

Love the gorilla, I'm a big fan of gorillas


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

Gary's sentiments are correct as these animals technically are not wild.  I have a love/hate relationship with zoos.  I hate seeing these animals in such small areas in comparison to the natural habitats.  At the same time my son is sooooo interested in animals.


----------



## gsgary (Jul 15, 2014)

I have been on forums where zoo animals have been deleted from wildlife


----------



## DarkShadow (Jul 15, 2014)

Wildlife is none domesticated animals regardless in captivity or in  the safari,So nature and wildlife seems appropriate IMO.Nice but #2 for monkey shot is great.


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> Gary's sentiments are correct as these animals technically are not wild. I have a love/hate relationship with zoos. I hate seeing these animals in such small areas in comparison to the natural habitats. At the same time my son is sooooo interested in animals.



If you have a love hate relationship with zoos I suggest strongly you do a heck of a lot more research and find out who it is that actually is responsible for the vast majority of the promotion/funding/organization of groups that try to preserve animal populations in the wild.  You'll find most major conservation efforts are back by a zoo of some sort, if not multiple zoo's.  It might also help to do some research and discover that the vast majority of animals that currently live in zoo's were actually born at either that zoo or another zoo and that at the present time they represent the best hope for the survival of many species.

So you can help support your local zoo by purchasing memberships, taking pictures, hopefully helping to encourage people to go to their local zoo and get involved - or you can sit around and nitpick on the internet as to what "category" this picture or that picture belongs in which does no one any good.  Personally I'll stick with the former.


----------



## DarkShadow (Jul 15, 2014)

This^^:thumbup:


----------



## Designer (Jul 15, 2014)

American Bison raised on a farm are still considered wild.  FWIW


----------



## JustJazzie (Jul 15, 2014)

Wild=Not tame. So Gary, when do I get to see you take a selfie cuddeling those gorillas in the zoo?


----------



## JacaRanda (Jul 15, 2014)

Try getting in a cage or an enclosure so you can pet the non wildlife animals.  The result may end the debate.


----------



## gsgary (Jul 15, 2014)

DarkShadow said:


> Wildlife is none domesticated animals regardless in captivity or in  the safari,So nature and wildlife seems appropriate IMO.Nice but #2 for monkey shot is great.



Bulls hit


----------



## DarkShadow (Jul 15, 2014)

Like jaca said get in the cage with a large leopard then come back if you can still speak to talk chit. lets not derail the OP thread no longer K.If you have a problem where things are posted take it up with the Mods.


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> If you have a love hate relationship with zoos I suggest strongly you do a heck of a lot more research and find out who it is that actually is responsible for the vast majority of the promotion/funding/organization of groups that try to preserve animal populations in the wild.  You'll find most major conservation efforts are back by a zoo of some sort, if not multiple zoo's.  It might also help to do some research and discover that the vast majority of animals that currently live in zoo's were actually born at either that zoo or another zoo and that at the present time they represent the best hope for the survival of many species.
> 
> So you can help support your local zoo by purchasing memberships, taking pictures, hopefully helping to encourage people to go to their local zoo and get involved - or you can sit around and nitpick on the internet as to what "category" this picture or that picture belongs in which does no one any good.  Personally I'll stick with the former.



I understand this completely.  It's still hard to see animals that would normally roam  thousands of acres in such a small area.


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > If you have a love hate relationship with zoos I suggest strongly you do a heck of a lot more research and find out who it is that actually is responsible for the vast majority of the promotion/funding/organization of groups that try to preserve animal populations in the wild. You'll find most major conservation efforts are back by a zoo of some sort, if not multiple zoo's. It might also help to do some research and discover that the vast majority of animals that currently live in zoo's were actually born at either that zoo or another zoo and that at the present time they represent the best hope for the survival of many species.
> ...



Well sadly the only way to fix that is to go into several African nations and several others on the Asian subcontinent, forcefully relocate their populations elsewhere at gunpoint and then establish massive reserves that are constantly patrolled by drones, hi tech attack helicopters and other armed resources all with orders to shoot and kill poachers on sight, no questions asked.  Sad thing is, you'd still be carrying out airstrikes against poachers on a daily basis.  Might boggle your mind, that people would literally risk life and limb to poach - but if you'd ever lived in Africa you'd understand.  

As for myself, sure, I'd love to see these critters out and about with thousands and thousand of acres to roam in - but I don't bury my head in the sand and pretend that things are different than they are, I understand that without zoo's many of these critters would probably go extinct, and if not for the conservation efforts made by most major zoo's to protect animals in the wild some of them would probably be there already.

So really if you honestly want to make a difference, then support your local zoo any way you can - buy a membership, take pictures and post them and hopefully encourage others to do the same.   Frankly it's a lot more productive than complaining about what category they were posted in on some internet forum.


----------



## PropilotBW (Jul 15, 2014)

They're wild animals. It's stupid it's even being debated. Have you Ever seen a panda, rhino, giraffe, lion, or  silverback gorilla as a pet?  Look what happened to Siegfried and Roy.  He Forgot the tiger was a wild animal.


----------



## PropilotBW (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> robbins.photo said:
> 
> 
> > If you have a love hate relationship with zoos I suggest strongly you do a heck of a lot more research and find out who it is that actually is responsible for the vast majority of the promotion/funding/organization of groups that try to preserve animal populations in the wild.  You'll find most major conservation efforts are back by a zoo of some sort, if not multiple zoo's.  It might also help to do some research and discover that the vast majority of animals that currently live in zoo's were actually born at either that zoo or another zoo and that at the present time they represent the best hope for the survival of many species.
> ...



Animals are in zoos to preserve their species. Most are endangered and some critically.  Animals that roam thousands of acres are poached for money.  That's what you should feel bad about.


----------



## Msteelio91 (Jul 15, 2014)

That second shot is great!


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> Well sadly the only way to fix that is to go into several African nations and several others on the Asian subcontinent, forcefully relocate their populations elsewhere at gunpoint and then establish massive reserves that are constantly patrolled by drones, hi tech attack helicopters and other armed resources all with orders to shoot and kill poachers on sight, no questions asked.  Sad thing is, you'd still be carrying out airstrikes against poachers on a daily basis.  Might boggle your mind, that people would literally risk life and limb to poach - but if you'd ever lived in Africa you'd understand.
> 
> As for myself, sure, I'd love to see these critters out and about with thousands and thousand of acres to roam in - but I don't bury my head in the sand and pretend that things are different than they are, I understand that without zoo's many of these critters would probably go extinct, and if not for the conservation efforts made by most major zoo's to protect animals in the wild some of them would probably be there already.
> 
> So really if you honestly want to make a difference, then support your local zoo any way you can - buy a membership, take pictures and post them and hopefully encourage others to do the same.   Frankly it's a lot more productive than complaining about what category they were posted in on some internet forum.



I think your confusing me with Gary.  You know, the guy who had a problem with what thread this was posted in.  I could care less.


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

PropilotBW said:


> Animals are in zoos to preserve their species. Most are endangered and some critically.  Animals that roam thousands of acres are poached for money.  That's what you should feel bad about.



I can feel bad about both if I choose.  But hey, I was at the zoo supporting it right?


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

mmaria said:


> why did you choose bw?



Sorry mmaria I forgot to answer your question.  They may not be wearing clothes but I till feel Ted Grants quote applies.

"When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!"


----------



## pjaye (Jul 15, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> jake337 said:
> 
> 
> > Gary's sentiments are correct as these animals technically are not wild. I have a love/hate relationship with zoos. I hate seeing these animals in such small areas in comparison to the natural habitats. At the same time my son is sooooo interested in animals.
> ...



This :thumbup:

Also, a lot of the animals in my local zoo are *wildlife* that were found injured. They can't be released back into the wild, they'll die. However, they are still *wildlife*, they are NOT domesticated.


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

symplybarb said:


> This :thumbup:
> 
> Also, a lot of the animals in my local zoo are wildlife that were found injured. They can't be released back into the wild, they'll die. However, they are still wildlife, they are NOT domesticated.



I guess when I wrote that my thinking of "wild" equated to wilderness.  I never used the word domesticated once in this thread.


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> symplybarb said:
> 
> 
> > This :thumbup:
> ...



They are referring to the actual dictionary definition of the word "wildlife", which is "any non-domesticated animal".  I do realize for you this isn't a huge issue, and that's ok with me as well - thing is we do have at least one poster here who has gone out of his way to make it a huge issue whenever possible, so some of what your getting in responses here might seem a little a bit adamant but just keep in mind that when your responding in a public forum your not always responding just specifically back to one person but rather addressing everyone who might be reading all at once.

I would encourage you to do a little more research into the topic of Zoo's and their role in preserving and conserving animals living in the wild, I think you will be rather surprised at what you might find, and I think you will most likely come to the same conclusion that I did - that supporting your zoo and doing whatever you can in playing even a small part in helping others discover their local zoo is a very, very good thing for all of these animals, not just the ones that live at that particular zoo but those that live at other zoos and in the wild.


----------



## jake337 (Jul 15, 2014)

robbins.photo said:


> They are referring to the actual dictionary definition of the word "wildlife", which is "any non-domesticated animal".  I do realize for you this isn't a huge issue, and that's ok with me as well - thing is we do have at least one poster here who has gone out of his way to make it a huge issue whenever possible, so some of what your getting in responses here might seem a little a bit adamant but just keep in mind that when your responding in a public forum your not always responding just specifically back to one person but rather addressing everyone who might be reading all at once.
> 
> I would encourage you to do a little more research into the topic of Zoo's and their role in preserving and conserving animals living in the wild, I think you will be rather surprised at what you might find, and I think you will most likely come to the same conclusion that I did - that supporting your zoo and doing whatever you can in playing even a small part in helping others discover their local zoo is a very, very good thing for all of these animals, not just the ones that live at that particular zoo but those that live at other zoos and in the wild.



Like I said.  I know all about what Zoo's do to help.  That will never change the fact that I don't like seeing animals out of their natural habitat.  I still support my local zoo's and always will.


----------



## robbins.photo (Jul 15, 2014)

jake337 said:


> Like I said.  I know all about what Zoo's do to help.  That will never change the fact that I don't like seeing animals out of their natural habitat.  I still support my local zoo's and always will.



To each their own I suppose.  Me I enjoy the chance to see and interact with animals, regardless - I don't fill my head with a lot of prejudices that simply don't have much to do with reality.

As to the photographs, you might seriously want to reconsider using color rather than B&W - I would disagree wholeheartedly with the notion that converting to B&W somehow mystically convey's the "soul" - in fact on gorilla shots I would say that the opposite is most likely true in most situations.  Because of their dark colored faces and heavy brows it's difficult at times even with color to discern the animals facial expression, and it can often take a bit of post processing to really pull that off.  By converting to black and white, well unfortunately you lose a lot of that detail and make it indiscernible because the critter's face is black to begin with - and without the more subtle variations that the color version provides the facial expression is lost or muddled at best.

Again, to each their own I suppose.  If you truly like the B&W version better then more power to you, but for me I think the color version would most likely improve the shot dramatically.


----------

