A Healthy Effort

Have your friends chosen wherethey want to go on your summer vacation?  You are not alone, most families have not yet decided where they want to go.  It can be a quite time consuming activity to find that ideal vacation getaway, so check out the options for your Iowa tourism.  You will discover exciting options and it may not be a simple choice!

Good news, if you are careful and take the commitment to do some planning, it should make your summer vacation exciting and one of those “family memories” that you will treasure forever.  The most common mistake people experience is first selecting a “destination.”  The perfect vacations occur when you first select “what you want to do”!  Do you want to go camping, tanning on a beach, playing and relaxing at a pool, or touring educational or heritage attractions?  By choosing “what you want to do” to start with, you are off to the best start of choosing that perfect family tourism destination!

Since you know “what you want to do” – you can think through the various tourism destination areas and find those exciting attractions that you hope to go see or do.  By taking a short time planning, you can also choose those destinations that have a variety of attractions that are interesting to both you and your whole family.  Online destination guides are available that can help you find comprehensive information about events that are more comprehensive than a short attraction name and address.   Now that you know “what” you want to do and “where” you want to go, a real high quality online Iowa attraction guide will provide you a comprehensive article detailing each attraction to help you make an informed decision about what you want to do and where you want to go.

Here are three Iowa vacation locations that you may want to consider:

Idea #1: The Christian Petersen Art Museum – Ames, Iowa (ISU). This is a new museum on campus.  You will certainly want to visit to see the great works created by numerous talented artists and named for the nations first permanent campus artist-in-residence.  The museum contains the largest collection of public works of art at any college or university in the nation.  There are over 3,000 objects ranging in size from large sculptures to sketches on paper exhibited and stored in the new museum.

Idea #2: The Kaleidoscope Factory – Pomeroy, Iowa. The owner of the Kaleidoscope Factory says “It’s really hard not to smile when you’re looking through a kaleidoscope.”  How true that is as the beautiful colors and shapes pass before your eyes bringing a whole fresh thought process to your day.  The changes brought on by just the slightest turn of the kaleidoscope brings you new images time after time.

Idea #3: In this small town in northern Iowa there was an act of horrific cruelness perpetrated on a kitten some years ago when someone, on a very cold winter night, dumped a kitten into the book return box at the library (or it could be that he got in there by himself to try to find warmth..).  The next morning, as the books were being taken from the box, the head librarian, Vicky Myron , found the kitten and took it into the library.  The poor kitten’s feet were frostbitten but he was so glad to be found and warm that he let everyone know how grateful he was.  The librarian decided that the kitten should have a home in the library and thus began the life of Dewey named for “Dewey Decimal System” the library cat of Spencer, Iowa.

As you have discovered, you have a wide choice of alternatives available to you when it is time to select that perfect family vacation getaway.  Take advantage of your chance to plan carefully what you want to do and where you want to go.  Use a quality travel guide to help you find those perfect Iowa vacations.  And you will find that you will experience a family vacation with a lifetime of memories.

It is true that the Spanish do not holiday in their own country in the same way that most Euopeans do within Spain and the Canary Islands. For Spaniards, a trip away from home in their own country as a holiday is a trip to a friend or relative for a few days.

Even though the South East Coastal regions of Spain stay warm all year round, the Spanish don’t care for hanging out around the tourist resorts much like the Brits in general are not that eager to spend their main holidays hanging out along the East Coast of the UK.

However, as the economic downturn bites into the UK, Tenerife has noticed a large decrease in the number of Brits travelling to Tenerife for holidays in the last quarter of 2008 and all expectations are for this trend to stay the same for some time to come! Yet the number of Spanish holidaying in Tenerife is on the increase even though the Department of Tourist Investigation of the Tenerife Tourism Board announced that October was down by 6.9% on last year for total visitors to the Island. The ten months up to October had shown a 1.38% overall increase to 4,443,426 tourists in 2008.

The holiday firm behind the Nerja Apartments booking agency confirmed that travellers from the UK to Spain was still bouyant and that plans to open a new Tenerife Apartments agency would still be going ahead early 2009 whilst solidifying the Marbella Apartments position in the market place as they increase market share. They acknowledge the subtle change being experienced in customer mix and are developing multiple language options for their websites.

Music in all it’s genres is a highly personal choice, and the listeners of it are generally quite biased toward or against aspects of any given song, or group of songs, and quite often, the performers themselves. Musicians always have and always will take from some of the great poets of our time and past times. Many famous musicians have even admitted that they have gotten stumped when trying to write a hit song.

When you first start learning something, you need to review it frequently in order to remember it. Eventually, you can review it less frequently. It’s perfect for guitarists who are just getting started with major scale melodies, riffs, lead guitar solos and bass lines. This version can be played on either acoustic or electric guitar.

You can start to learn guitar songs fast and make people wonder how you managed to suddenly sound like a professional. If you want to learn guitar songs then there are several ways of going about it. Some are easier than others, and of course the relative difficulty of each method will differ from person to person It depends how you personally respond to different teaching methods.

Start with the first chord in the song and continue the same way with the other chords. First, strum the chord on your guitar and practice playing the suitable scale up and down in various positions and patterns. Guitar tabs are seen by learning guitar players as an easy way to start playing guitar right away. That is true but it is wrong to think that guitar tablature just needs to be read. Learning guitar chords may seem tricky and confusing, especially for beginners.

Therefore, the quicker you learn the basic chords and transitioning between them, or basic fundamentals, the quicker you can learn guitar songs, virtually any song you can think of. When you learn guitar songs, you will see that scales play a major role on every song. That is why you should take time out to practice playing scales. The best songs to begin with are the ones with fairly simple chords. Beginner guitar songs are those that have just a few chords.

If you choose a collection of easy guitar songs, your learning experience will be much more enjoyable if you can then find on YouTube some free video clips of guitar players performing some of the songs you’ve chosen. Failing that you can look for audio of the songs to buy or borrow. The video demonstrations does a much better job.

Apply around 58,000 atmospheres of pressure to pure carbon and then heat to about 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit and you will have a diamond. For millions of years microscopic plants and animals lived and died in the ancient oceans and after time these bodies turned into carbon.

When tectonic plates collided with one and another, one of the tectonic plates was pushed under the other and the bodies of the microorganism, now carbon are buried under tons of rock. With the extrema pressure and heat the molecules of the carbon are aligned forming a diamond.

This process arranges the atoms in a unique Crystal structure that cause diamonds to have tighter atoms than any other substance in the world which makes them the hardest natural material known.

These diamonds were later pushed to the surface of the earths crust by volcanic action. A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in the earths crust that allows hot molten rock to escape to the earths surface and if the conditions are right, diamonds as well. Volcano’s fall into three different types.

The first type is when the tectonic plates pull apart from one another. These linear features volcano’s can form in the middle of continents but also occur in the oceans. It produces rift valleys that is filled when the two opposing plates move away from each other.

Since carbon has not been forced into the molten rock diamonds are usually not found. An example of rift valleys are the Great Rift Valley located in the Middle East and Africa, the Mid-Atlantic Rift, and the Rio Grand Rift in North America.

The second type of volcanic action occurs when the tectonic plates stretch as they move over a hot spot or mantle plumes. The crust of the earth is melted allowing the hot magma to move to the earths surface. An example of this type of volcano’s is the Hawaiian Islands.

The Hawaiian Islands consist of hundreds of island and atolls that extend for 1,500 miles or 2,300 KM. As the tectonic plates moved across the hot spot volcanoes erupted and created islands. The oldest to the newest island extend from the northwest to the southeast ending with Hawaii or the big island.

Prime Diamond hunting areas is found where two opposing tectonic plates collide and one is forced under the other. This will cause carbon to be pushed into the hot magma and with tons of rock on top the pressure will be extreme. As the collisions take place large mountain ranges may be formed by the wrinkling of the earths crust such as the Rockey Mountains and the Himalayan Mountain range.

As cracks and fissures is formed in the mountain ranges the magma will find its way to the surface and a volcano is formed. The Volcano eruption can be quite violent such as the Mount St. Helen’s explosion in North America in 1980. The Pacific Ring of Fire is a 24,850 mile or 40,000 km horseshoe shaped ring of volcanoes. It extends from Java to Sumatra to the Himalayas to the Mediterranean and into the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The San Andreas Fault in California is another example of an active collision of tectonic plates.

Named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa in 1870s, diamonds are found in a type of rock called Kimberley pipes. Kimberley pipes are formed from the cooling volcano core of magma that has found its way to the earths surface. It is believed that they are formed deep within the earths mantle between 93 to 290 miles or 150 to 450 kilometers deep and contain exotic compositions that are erupted rapidly and violently to the surface.

Red garnets are usually found in Kimberley pipes that contain diamonds. Since these minerals are in greater in quantities than diamonds, geologists look for these indicator in the regions where they suspect diamonds to occur. Most Kimberley pipes were formed between 70 to 150 million years ago but several have been found in Southern Africa that are believed to be 1600 million years old. Only 1 in 200 Kimberley pipes contain gem-quality diamonds.

In a nut shell look for the areas that tectonic plates are converging. Next find areas that have had volcanic activity in the distant past, the older the better. Find the Kimberley rock formations that the volcanoes have produced. If the Kimberley pipes have evidence of red garnets and other crystals then the possibility of diamonds is highly possible. Please remember the author and give him several handfuls of rough diamonds as a reward for the information provided here.

hemorrhoids children

Here are some signs and symptoms of hemorrhoids to look out for:

1. The number one sign of hemorrhoids is bleeding. Unlikely bleeding of the anus is something that can be presumed as a sign of hemorrhoids. Bleeding from the rectum usually get into notice during bowel movement wherein there is a stain of blood in the stool. It is best to immediately see a doctor if there is occurrence of any bleeding from the anal canal before, during, or after a bowel movement. One, however, should take into consideration that bleeding in the anus can also be another form of disorder/sickness, and might not be necessarily a cause of hemorrhoids.

A bleeding anus can become very uncomfortable and embarrassing. Since bleeding happens when the anus or the lower body exerts pressure, bleeding may happen anywhere such as when one is in a public place. Needless to say, nobody wants to have their clothes stained with blood from the anus.

2. One other sign of hemorrhoids is a change in the size, shape and color of the stool. Because hemorrhoids cause blockage in the stool’s passageway, the stools usually come out thin and narrow in size and shape as well as dark in color.

gout treatment

In most peoples experience gout only affects one joint at a time, it is normally joints that get a lot of use, your big toe joint for example. Gout treatment means different things to different people, some people don’t mind using medication others prefer natural treatments

They are looking for it to actually stop the gout attack when it occurs as well as provide them with relief from the pain. The treatment they use will be something that is able to effectively, quickly as well as safely remove the pain that they are feeling. But along with the treatment being able to do these things they also want it to reduce the inflammation that gout causes along with preventing the chances of a further attack happening in the future.

The market for gout pain relief medication is growing rapidly as people diet causes more and more of us to suffer with gout. So many people eat on the run, eat rich food and don’t take in enough fluids that Gout is a growing medical problem.

Anti inflammatory treatment has been the standard treatment for gout sufferers for a long time. They are usually of the non steroidal variety and they are known as NSAIDS in Dr speak, they are not the only treatment but when you first get Gout pain NSAIDS are the first path of pain relief.

best muscle building supplements

Six pack abs can easily be obtained. Most 6 pack abs are not visible because the is a layer of dense fat that covers them. You could be in shape and not notice you have washboard abs because you have extra tummy fat covering defined abdominal muscles and by loosing weight they be noticed.

Many health problems could be alleviated by a weight loss program. Health problems that can be improved by loosing weight is cardiac or diabetes issues, sleep issues and just by loosing weight. You may also have ripped abs and may not be aware of it because they are hiding behind belly fat.

By toning your belly ab muscles should appear more toned to you and other people. This should make washboard abs more noticeable. By loosing belly fat and love handles ads should pot right to the surface and with a healthy diet with reduced fats and cards this could accelerate you weight loss from months to weeks.

Most people though do not have the stamina and loose motivation if a diet program is too restrictive and exercising is too extreme. Consider looking as you diet and eliminating the obvious contributors to weigh gain.

Disclaimer: readers of this post should consult a doctor before taking any medical advice.

It Counts

Has buying a horse got you confused? If your are looking to compare apples to apples..er, Quarter horses to Quarter horses, I mean..then there are a few things you must consider with each and every horse you look at. Here’s the list:

Temperament.

A horse’s temperament is extremely important to your overall experience. If you are a beginning rider, temperament is probably the most important factor when it comes to choosing a horse. A horse of good temperament is alert and ready to work, but also calm and willing.

Manners.

Manners are extremely important! They can mean the difference between a horse being easy to live with, and a horse being not-so-easy to live with! When looking at horses for sale, make sure you watch their behavior as they are being caught, handled, and ridden. And keep in mind that just like with us humans, bad habits can be hard to break!

Soundness.

If you are planning on riding your horse, working soundness is key. This means that the horse should not have any lamenesses that prevents the horse from moving correctly and therefore succeeding at its intended purpose. Horses who aren’t being ridden need to be checked for soundness depending upon what you are planning on using them for. For example, if you are looking for a broodmare, a breeding unsoundness would prevent the mare from having a foal. However, that same mare may be a great family riding horse!

Movement.

Horses should move smoothly and in balance, without stiffness, crookedness, or interference. When looking at younger horses, keep in mind that some of a horse’s gait is determined by training. If you have questions about a horse’s gait, it always helps to get an experienced horse person to look at the horse and give you his opinion. Is the horse’s way of going inherent, or is it something that can be improved with a little training? Be sure you watch the horse at all three gaits. If you ride the horse, is the horse comfortable? If you are a beginning rider, comfort is very important!

Conformation.

The way a horse is built will determine how a horse moves. It goes without saying that the horse shouldn’t have any glaring conformational faults that affect its way of going. Aside from that, the conformation of the horse should be suitable for the manner in which you intend to use him. If you are not educated when it comes to horse conformation, take someone along who is.

Health.

How healthy is the horse you are looking at? Ask to see the horse’s health records, to determine if their is anything long-standing, recurring, or permanent that would have to be dealt with. Temporary health issues can be easier to deal with and you may even get your horse at a discount price as a result. However, do remember that if you intend to buy a horse and then nurse him back to health, there’s a good chance you’ll have to spend time and money that you wouldn’t have spent on a healthier horse.

Accomplishments.

What has your horse done in the past? This may be a very important consideration if you are looking for a horse to show you the ropes; on the other hand, it may not be a consideration at all if you intend to train the horse yourself.

Size.

In the world of horses, size does matter! It is important that your horse fits you. As a general rule of thumb, bigger horses are more desirable because they can accommodate a wider range of riders. If you are looking at a smaller horse make sure your legs can fall in the right position. In other words, your heel should not be below the horse’s underline. If you are not certain, ask someone else how you look on the horse.

There sure is a lot to consider when looking at horses for sale and selecting the right horse. However, it’s important to know that careful selection will result in years of enjoyment. Take your time!

Signals are essential when it comes to trading on the Forex market and having accurate Forex signals are one of the things that can determine your success when trading on the currency exchange. These signals are what determines a number of different elements in the trade environment. Software programs use signals to decide what their rules will be about. The rules are the guidelines you set up with your strategy in order to reach your goals when it comes to Forex trading. This is why having accurate Forex signals are essential.

To find out more on how to find good Forex Trading Signals go to Forex Blog

When you are trading, you use signals, which are the stipulations you state, such as starts and stops. These factors are essential in your trading. You can easily set a program with a set of accurate Forex signals to start trading between pairs, to trade one way up to a certain amount, trade the other way in the same manner.

It is also possible to adjust your program so that your initial investment is protected from total loss in the event that trading goes poorly. In order to maintain accuracy you are going to want to keep an eye on your signals and the market and change things accordingly to take market trends into account.

This is one of the fastest ways to ensure that even if you are doing automated trading you are still going to get the best opportunities possible to make the trades you are looking for. You should use accurate Forex signals more than other signals. The stop trading signals should be incredibly accurate.

You are going to want these to be calculated carefully so that you know exactly where you can stop trading without taking a significant loss and where you should stop exchanges completely and hold on what you have in order to prevent the loss of your initial investment. If you employ overage as your investment, you must be sure to include that as well.

See what others are saying about the best Forex signals Forex Forum

The Forex market gives individual participants a chance to trade with more money than what they previously used as their actual investment, often four times that amount, which is one of the aspects that makes the Forex market so popular, yet so risky.

Many people overextend themselves in an attempt to make quick money. As a result, they are unsuccessful. However, if you set in accurate Forex signals then you can easily ensure that you are trading safely and securely. While some loss is expected you can with accurate Forex signals control some of the loss and minimize its effects on the overall investment.

You won’t be able to get the most out of the market if you restrict trading and this is important. Many believe to see faster gains that you need to take risks. But as well as trying to make substantial gains you need to remember the potential for loss as well. However, how you set up your Forex signals is going to be determined by your strategy.

For the best info on Forex trading systems and Forex trading signals join our newsletter: Forex Newsletter

Gifts For Groomsmen

There is one component all people strive for when trying to make an online business successful and that is creating a steady flow of web traffic. If people don’t go to your site, it will hardly have any chance of generating any income at all. It takes money to maintain an income generating web site.

Ever wonder how successful, revenue earning online businesses succeed? Most of them are spending tons of money to increase traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and researching different forms of marketing schemes.

You don’t have to do all the above to create revenue for your site if you don’t have the resources. There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing everything they own over it.

Below are the top five ways to generate low cost website traffic that I believe can help your site become successful. Even if you only generate a small percentage of successful visitors to client ratio, you will still see revenue, especially if you get high website traffic.

Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method in the online business world. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites when you start to use this method.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites, is having the same niche or content as the other site you are trying to exchange links with. Both sites should share a common subject so that there is continuity in providing service and information to what interests your target visitor.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks sites that have inbound theme-related links. With a good rank position in the search engines, you will generate more web traffic for your site without the high costs.

Traffic Exchange

This is similar to exchanging links, but on a different and higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links, but could be made cheaper because you have the chance to earn more revenue. Traffic exchange services is the idea of viewing another person’s site or page. This is done by the other person as well. This makes it so a site can use the contents of your site and vise-versa. This makes it so that you both benefit from each others efforts to generate web traffic. The other sites visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again the public awareness of your site’s existence is boosted.

Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias on the internet which provide free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can write the articles yourself or there are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee. Although, if your aim is to save money, it is wise to write the articles for yourself.

Write something that you have expertise on so that when people read your articles, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site more and more. It is also a great idea to include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Make sure you write a little about yourself and your site in the resource box. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more which will create more web traffic and revenue for you.

Make a Newsletter

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter, but on the contrary, this is not the case. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in your newsletter someplace. As your newsletter gets passed around, you can widen the public awareness of your website and maybe build an opt-in list for reader when your site becomes more successful.

Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. This lets you share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities that are populated with people. You can also get free advertising when you visit forums that have the same subject or niche as your site. Make sure you share your two cents with everyone and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your website. Making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

How did anyone ever travel before the internet? It is such a valuable tool when planning a flight to Las Vegas. The internet is where to go to find the best deals. Whether you have a favorite airline or just want the best value, there is not a shortage of sites that pop up when you enter flights to las vegas in the search box. Which ever airport you are leaving from you are sure to find a departure time, flight route and price that meets your needs.

If their is a paticular air line that you enjoy flying on you can always request a certain carrier. Searching on line has never been so easy or convenient and also money saving. Companies on now offering on line only deals for flights to Las Vegas which are sure to give you extra gambling money. Third party sites also bundle cheap flights with hotel rooms or car rentals giving travelers package deals. For the amount you may have thought you would pay for a flight to Las Vegas you may also be able to figure in your hotel stay by using one of these travel specialty sites.

So if you want las vegas flights get on line and enter those four words in the search bar and begin your journey. Just remember when you do book that flight into Las Vegas either arrive or leave a night so you can fly over the strip all lit up. That is one of the most amazing things to see.

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Introduction

Welcome to Part Two of Hints and Tips on Big Cat Photography. Here we continue to look at equipment and common mistakes encountered when photographing Big Cats.

Lenses

Here you have quite a few choices , these points are discuss below.

Specific Lenses

Macro – a close focusing lens ranging from 50 to around 110mm in focal length – the longer the focal length the further away from the subject you can be. The drawback – foreshortened depth of field – you have just a few millimetres to get the focus point correct – so you’ll need a still subject matter. But you can get some amazing close ups of teeth and paws.

Standard Close Focusing – this would apply to a 30mm or 50mm prime lens but one that has the ability to focus down to around 8 to 12 inches. These lenses can give you close dramatic pictures when on a Big Cats Experience Day.

Standard Zoom – for me this would be a lens similar to an 18 – 70mm or the 17 – 55mm. Similarly there are some longer standard zooms such as the 24 – 70mm or even a 24 – 120mm. The choice is yours and it comes down to which part of the zoom range you want to operate within, remember on a DX body the lens will be multiplied by a factor of 1.4 to 1.6 depending on which make of camera body you have. So your 17 – 55mm multiplies up to around a 25 – 82mm when compared to a 35mm film camera or an FX digital body. On an FX body – being full frame the focal length is as stated. But remember if you use a DX lens on a FX body you’ll get edge fringing , called vignetting.

Fast Zoom Lens -by this we are talking about how much light the lens can let in at its maximum aperture. For example a lens with a minimum aperture of F6.3 will let in far less light than one of F2.8. Remember the smaller the number the bigger the hole in the lens and the more light it lets in. This then gives you quicker shutter speeds, which you need with longer focal length lenses, for example those over 200mm. Tip – you should always keep your shutter speed over your focal length – so if you‘re at 200mm, you need 200th of a second, but hang on you’re using a DX body and lens so you need to add in the crop factor multiply by 1.4 to 1.6 so at 200mm you really need 320th or 400th of a second. Even some standard zooms with F2.8 aperture used by the professional photographer can still be expensive, for example the Nikon 17-55 F2.8 is around £900.

Standard Telephoto – this would be a lens similar to a 70 – 300mm lens or some of the more all day lenses – like an 18 – 200 or 55 – 200, all day lenses are discussed below. You can get a 70 – 200 F2.8 but these are expensive, most standard telephotos range from F4 to F5.6 in terms of speed and are good all round lenses, just watch the light levels. OK you can up the ISO but again remember the noise compromise.

Super Telephoto – this would apply to either a lens over 300mm or one that I feel is a prime lens, fixed focal length, that sits around F4 or F2.8. These are not cheap lenses and entry levels are around £2,000. Personally I like to use the 200 – 400mm VR lens from Nikon, now checking in at a suggested selling price of £5800, but I didn’t pay that for mine, I got in before the 2009 price rise.

All Day Lenses

A Definition – by this we are discussing an all in one lens, a lens that will zoom from wide angle to standard telephoto, for instance an 18- 200mm.

The Benefits – it gets you all the shots you need, no changing lenses no down time. Often light and compact they are not much to carry about.

The Compromise – optical quality! You’re asking this lens be all things to all people . A prime will always out perform a zoom. And an all day lens has to do a job at all levels through the zoom range, the edges of the image will suffer and so too will the speed of the lens, remember the F number and the amount of light it needs. You don’t find professional lens made at F2.8 or faster that cover that wide a range – and there has to be a reason for that – optical quality – Pros carry 2 or more camera bodies with a shot and a long lens set up using matched equipment.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field (DOF) – if you are lucky enough to own f2.8 maximum aperture lenses then be mindful as to how short the DOF can be, especially if the subject comes within the zone where the distance to subject is under the focal length – for example, the DOF on a 200mm lens will be further foreshortened if the subject is inside a 2m (2000mm) range in front of the lens. Some 200mm lenses will focus as close as 1.5 – 1.8m so the impact of this is that you may focus on the nose of say a tiger only to find the eyes are blurred, or out of focus.

Shutter Speed

As a commercial photographer – remember this rule as we mentioned earlier – keep your shutter speed above the focal length of your lens, e.g. 200mm shoot at 250th sec or more, allowing for the crop factor I’d suggest at least 320th sec on a 200mm lens.

RAW or Jpeg

This is probably as much discussed on the camera forums as brand names, each has its advantages and disadvantages. Personally I shoot RAW as it gives you a safety zone if the shot is slightly out. Added to that I personally think it gives you more post production options. The choice as they is yours. I do shoot Jpeg for press work but only because you don’t have the time for post production.

Image Composition

Detail – this is great option, stripes, spots, eyes, ear noses and tails – there is so much choice.

Action – running, jumping, pawing for food on the ground or in the air, lost of options. And when it all kicks off with the three male lions make sure you’re ready.

Portraits – sitting, lying down with a full belly and a low sun in the sky and the lions look great. Contrast that with an angelic Tiger that just can’t be bothered. All of these give you great options for images.

Close Up – teeth, paws and claws, similar to the details shot but much closer, using macro photography.

Use of flash – this is an option , watch out for green or yellow eye, this is the same as red eye in humans and it’s a lot easier to get and harder to get rid of due to the size of the cats eyes. Also watch out for the wire, make sure the flash gun is a fill to the available light and close to the wire else you get wire stripes.

Common Errors

Wire – while the gauge of wire will have an impact on what can be done, I still see many shots with the wire right through the middle of the picture . It’s best to get the centre of the lens lined up with the square of the wire – i.e. the hole. Ensure you don’t have a vertical or horizontal wire passing in front of the lens or worst still a join, giving a big cross in the shot.

Background – try to get the background as natural as possible use head shots or a short depth of field to bur the background. Also use any landscaping in the enclosure to mask the cage behind or above. Remember to get down low, take the cats perspective.

Machine gunning! – is the photographer that presses the shutter button for long periods of time, shooting continuously without checking the shots back. This will fill up your memory cards very quickly and give so many similar images to edit, when all you really need are short bursts of 3 to 6 shots. Take your time.

Metering – Try and avoid average metering and use spot or centre weighted, remember to metre off the subject. Matrix metering is too general for Big Cats.

Accessories

Tripods – these are not really usable around the Big Cats enclosures as they are cumbersome and you don’t have the flexibility to move.

Monopods – these are handy on longer lenses and have the ability to be more manoeuvrable.

Laptops – if you have one it’s a good idea to download your shots half way through the day. Alternatively use the laptop to check shots back, say at lunchtime, and see how you are getting on. Also remember to back up your cards – the last thing you want is a card failure and no images.

Extra cards – a very good idea, keep them smaller, now-a-days around 4GB. 16GB cards are all well and good but if it fails, that’s a lot of lost data. 1GB used to be considered large, a while back, now using this card in a modern DSLR and it more resembles the number of shots you’d get on a roll of film.

Clothing – Check the weather before you go. Take a selection to allow for a change in the weather or for getting down on the ground.

Author : Peter Davey MA DipM

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