The Wild Animal Safari Park located in Pine Mountain Georgia (more info -
HERE) is a drive through Zoo that is interesting and yet very sad all at the same time. I took my two grand daughters there this past June and they had a wonderful and exciting time. We rented a Safari Vehicle from the park and were allowed to drive the motor trail that meanders through the property for several miles all by ourselves. The animals are use to being feed by visitors on the tour buses and come right up to the vehicle and stick there heads and sometimes their tongues right inside the vehicle's window with often alarming and messy results. The girls had a ball and got to see exotic and very large animals up close that are obviously not native to these parts. The sad part was the captive, crowded conditions in which these animals lived and their conditioning to quickly move towards the vehicles for a hand-out. This Buffalo was cooling off in one of the lakes. Hand held from van window, 80% of full frame.
Please see Large Version
File name RAMY_9581_CF64
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Shooting Date/Time 6/17/2015 3:49:57 PM
Author Michael Ramy
Copyright Notice CopyRight Rock Art, Ltd All Rights Reserved
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/320
Av(Aperture Value) 7.1
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +2/3
ISO Speed 320
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Focal Length 248.0mm
Comments
5 commentsas usual in that type of parks, there are two sites that need to be seen. I am more of the type that sees the glass half full instead of half empty, meaning I see that more from the optimistic site, i.e. your grand daughters seem to have had a good time.
When we were discussing about adding this gallery to NPN, I argued saying that here in Germany and many other European countries it is very hard to photograph wildlife due to the high density population in many countries. There are not many bigger nature reserves or national parks and one is happy to find wildparks were one can photograph and observe some animals.
What I like about this photo is that it looks very natural and even is a typical setup of this species. From composition point of view I may have cropped even stronger to get a more portrait alike image by cropping a bit from the top to eliminate the upper bright reflection and from the right.
Technically you mange to get a fine image, with very good sharpness and well chosen exposure time given the light conditions.
I understand your "yin-yan" feelings about the facility. Of course there's a continuum of facility conditions (from abhorrent to excellent) and another continuum in terms of the value of the facilities (and the quality of work they do) in terms of public education and appreciation for nature. I personally tend to focus primarily on the welfare of the wildlife in "judging" captive facilities...
BUT...I like your shot - the detail version shows just that - really good detail! The reflection (particularly of the horn) is interesting as well. I agree with Cay-Uwe that this one might even be more effective with a tighter crop.
Thanks for sharing the image and your feelings about the facility.
Cheers...
Brad
This is a beautiful image, which I am certain would be almost impossible in the wild.
I do not like zoos, but then am fortunate to be able to go on safari, not all people are and these facilities give the opportunity to many to share the wonders of wildlife. I do however wish people would not feed the animals.
I did not know this gallery existed so I can now post my Tiger images