Snake

Today was the first full day out shooting with my new 18-200 lens (ordered back in February but only definitively in my possession since early April). I have to confess I'm really happy with the results, after all the fuss. It's a superb all-in-one lens for walking about all day when you don't want to carry a heavy kit bag. While the snake in this shot is not as sharp as I'd have liked when viewed at 100%, it's still really impressive for a shot taken at full zoom in very low light.

Toronto Zoo was great, if crowded. Malini was in heaven, of course, and I was happy with the number of keepers when I looked back at the hundred or so shots I took. I'll use a few more of them in this blog in future instalments. It was interesting to see the mix of people wandering through the zoo today. Lots of thin people, fat people, beautiful people, trailer trash, Chinese, Indians, East Europeans, South Americans, Somalis and Orthodox Jews. Toronto's a pretty mixed place, I hope it can avoid trouble going into the future. Speaking of rival factions, a very random straw poll tells me that Nikon are winning the DSLR wars in Ontario: D70s and D200s easily outnumbered the Digital Rebels and 20Ds on display. There were even a couple of D2Xs. :)

Details: Nikon D70, 18-200 VR lens @ 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/30s, ISO 800. Australasian Pavilion, Toronto Zoo, Easter Sunday 2006. Placemark.