After nearly a week of 100°-110°F temperatures at our house, we took advantage of a very autumnal day (mid 70s) and went to the San Diego Zoo yesterday.  With a heavy cloud layer that didn’t lift until mid-morning, it allowed for some great photography, without having to worry about high contrast situations.  By noon, however, the sun came out, and so did the crowds.  However, with a 2 1/2 year old, we were ready to leave, have a picnic lunch, and head home by then anyway…

Lesser spot-nosed guenon (Cercopithecus petaurista), August 2010

Su Lin the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), August 2010

Of course, I can’t go to the zoo and just visit the charismatic megafauna.  Some of the lesser-visited attractions are some of the most pleasant for me.  One in particular I like is the exhibit on local (to southern California) rattlesnake species.

Speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus) August 2010

*As a technical note on the above photo, I handheld that with my 300/4 + 1.4x teleconverter and focused through glass.  The image was pretty sharp, but it did take some help in Photoshop to make it look presentable.

Finally, a visit to the hummingbird aviary was in order, before leaving the zoo for the day.

Hummingbird, August 2010

All in all, it was a pretty good day!  Even on a family-oriented trip to the zoo, there are many opportunities for photography available.  With so many opportunities, it is a good time to practice refining your skills with flash and exposure so when you’re in the field and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity arises, you can draw on the knowledge you gained.