need feedback for Photo contest

[charr5]

Hey all,
I was hoping some of you could take a look at some new shots that I took at the Dallas Zoo.
http://christopher-harrington.fotopic.net/
They are having a photo contest and I can only chose three. They haven't been put through PS yet.
Please take a minute and let me know what you think and which 3 you would select.
Thanks guys,
CMH

[onehotrx7]

Hi Christopher,

I don't want to stomp on your feelings or anything (but I'd rather be honest about your shots than tell you they're all great), but from my experience with zoo photo competitions, you need a shot with a real hook if you're going to get anywhere... there are people with excellent equipment who will spend hours getting 'the' shot at the zoo, and compared to those your shots aren't really strong enough - they need something to give them some zing...

The rhino would be your best shot, but your light is a bit harsh, so you've lost a lot of texture from his skin - and you really need more eye detail, and a catchlight to bring him to life... the sleeping cats are clean shots, but you only have the back of one... if you had one stretched out and isolated you'd have a better image... if you had them doing something, anything, you'd have a shot that showed much more skill in capturing it...

Unfortunately, with captive animals, good clear shots aren't really enough... winners at our zoo competitions have been things like hippo's breaking the surface of the water with mouths wide open, snapping into pumpkins they're given as treats, three meerkats all posed in sentry position, kangaroos scuffling with each other, barbary sheep head butting each other at mating time, Golden tamarinds in mid jump from branch to branch, etc... I too have submitted excellent animal
'portraits' into competition, but unfortunately they're just too easy to get to stand out...

The best of luck, if you're going to work on those shots, start with the Hippo - but my suggestion would be to concentrate on one animal for a while and get the BEST image of it you can - aim to knock the judges socks off, not simply have them say "Hmmmm, nice..."

Cheers,
Stuart

[henkbos]

Chris,

My comment was almost exactly like Stu's. The rhino is your best shot. Process in PS and blur the background. Forget about the rest.
I recently participated in 2 contests and was surprised about the judging (except for the 1 I won LOL). Great pics where rejected for no reason. It will also help to know who will be in the jury (if you can find out). The director of a zoo will look for something else than the local vet or tour operator.

Good luck!

[charr5]

Thanks for the words of wisdom guys. I appreciate all your honesty.
The day I went to the zoo was with the wife and just for fun, not to take pictures for the contest( I discovered they had a contest while we were there and I just brought my camera with one lens- no tripod or anything)
So who knows...I'm entering the amateur section as I still am one.
It will just be fun to enter.
Thanks again,
CMH