"common" but beautifully photographed! I peeked at your EXIF and was surprised it was taken at an aperture of f/8 because the DoF is so luscious I assumed it was more shallow.
Ah, I see. The Sigma or the Tamron lens? My farthest reach is 400. So do you shoot aperture priority? Do you set the ISO or auto ISO? (she asks, wanting to be a copycat photographer but without the fancy lens)
@jyokota Tamron (first version) for wildlife always on aperture priority and set ISO manual (so have to keep an eye on the shutter speed as well). With the Canon (I guess) 100-400 you probably get pretty sharp images already at F/6.3 at 400mm.
@jyokota it really depends on the lens, with my Canon 70-200 f/4 L I can shoot at F/4 no problem, but with my Tamron 70-300 F/4.5-5.6 I have to use F/7.1 to get a sharp image (but I can get two Tammies for the price of one Canon). As Canon 100-400 has F/4.5-5.6 I think F/5.6 will give good results but F/6.3 even better (Wide open is not always the best image quality). This is just my personal opinion and experience, the more expensive (quality) the lens of course the better the quality also in the low aperture range.
@leonbuys83 -- thanks for the aperture sharpness lesson! Now I have to go out and try practicing more . . . my husband bought me that 100-400 Canon lens as one of my two birthday lenses a few months ago and I haven't used it much yet. (I did photograph Mt Rainier in October, though!)
@jyokota good luck, I'm sure you will manage. I find taking images in a zoo is a good exercise, especially with a zoom lens, possible to try several settings without running the risk of the subject disappearing.
@leonbuys83 -- the only zoo experience i have had in recent DECADES is with @annied in Sydney and it was memorably wonderful to be led by someone who knows and loves zoos. But Chicago does have two zoos . . .
