Another Trip To The Ecovivarium

[rpcrowe]

I never knew that this place existed before the first time I visited it with a camera club. I must have passed it over a hundred times since it is on my way home from the public library. It is a small storefront operation with its principal aim to rescue various reptiles in need and also bringing these animals to schools in order to acquaint the students with snakes and lizards.

Sony A6500, ISO 640, Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 lens - 1/200 second at f/5 - light from one overhead lamp

[DanK]

Nicely composed and lit


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[Manfred M]

It looks like you have found another interesting place for photography.

This is a nice, strong well composed image. I suspect this place merits a return visit if this is typical of what you can photograph there.

[rpcrowe]

Dan and Manfred - thanks for the nice comments...

Dan - as far as lighting - All that I could do is move about four feet left or right to achieve the best lighting from the single lamp above the lizard or to wait and hope that the lizard would move into better lighting. Patience is the name of the game in venues like this...

Manfred - Last time I shot there the director opened the enclosures for me to shoot. This time, there was only a young volunteer who said that she was afraid to open the enclosures...

So I used my Magic Tool that I often use when shooting through reflective surfaces. That is a black plastic salad bowl about 12 to 14-inches in diameter which I purchased at my local 99-Cent store. I cut a round hole in the bottom of the bowl large enough to fit my lenses through. Placing the light plastic bowl against the window and sticking my lens through the hole removes 99% of the reflections and gives a cleaner image. The bowl only weighs an ounce or two and I can carry it on a belt clip. Works great.

Here I am using it at the Ecovivarium


I have also used a folding softbox like this (without the flash and camera and with no diffuser or baffle) by sticking the lens through the hole that accepts the flash unit.



The salad bowl is lighter and easier to use but, doesn't fold down like the mini-softbox....

[Manfred M]

So I used my Magic Tool that I often use when shooting through reflective surfaces. That is a black plastic salad bowl about 14-inches in diameter which I purchased at my local 99-Cent store. I cut a round hole in the bottom of the bowl large enough to fit my lenses through. Placing the light plastic bowl against the window and sticking my lens through the hole removes 99% of the reflections and gives a cleaner image. The bowl only weighs an ounce or two and I can carry it on a belt clip. Works great.

It looks like you have a very effective tool for shooting through glass. Eliminating reflections worked well.

[rpcrowe]

I posted an image above of me using the salad bowl today...

[Manfred M]

I posted an image above of me using the salad bowl today...

You must get some strange looks with that hanging from your belt.

[rpcrowe]

Only if I have a set of salad tongs hanging from the other side

[Ken MT]

You could put it on your head, itlooks vaguely like a world war 1 helmet at first glance

[rpcrowe]

You could put it on your head, itlooks vaguely like a world war 1 helmet at first glance

If I ad no cut a hole in it - might be good in the rain...

[Shadowman]

Very nice, we have similar places with settings such as this and usually the glass is smudged or dirty, you got some good shots in this environment.

[rpcrowe]

John...

I always carry a small pack of facial tissues and a small spray bottle (the size people carry around for their eye glasses) of glass cleaner. That way I can get a small circle of the glass as clean as possible. When there are no reflections, small smudges on the glass are less apt to degrade the image...

[Shadowman]

John...

I always carry a small pack of facial tissues and a small spray bottle (the size people carry around for their eye glasses) of glass cleaner. That way I can get a small circle of the glass as clean as possible. When there are no reflections, small smudges on the glass are less apt to degrade the image...

Nice tip.