Evening star., 1948-05-30
By Alexander J. Wedderburn
Cvrotor Of Photography
The Smithsonian Institution


These are the days when people
just naturally gravitate toward the
ZOO. So, If you are an amateur
movie maker, why not take along
your camera? You will be surprised
at the fun you will have photogra-
phing the animals-and the people!
If you will watch the expressions
and antics of the visitors to the
anismal cages you will discover
that their attempts to feed and at
tract the inmates are just as funny
on the screen as they undoubtedly
are to the animals in the cages.
When planning your movie ex-
pedition to the zoo, be sure to find
out in the advance at what times
the animals are fed-for this will
be the time to get some of your
most interesting shots. At other
times, particularly on hot days, the
animals will probably hunt up a
cool spot for nap.
To get a good zoo film you may
make several trips during the sum-
mer. You also will have to be
prepared to use lots Of film, be-
cause, as we have said. animal
shooting is fun and before you know
it several hundred feet of film will
have slipped through your camera
as the animals 60 through their
repertoire of tricks But your labors
and lavish use of film will be well
rewarded next winter when you will
entertain the children and neigh
bors with pictures that they will all
appreciate.
Your best bet for laughs, of
course, is the monkey house. These
fellows are natural cut-ups, but If
you get nothing more than shot
of mother monkey picking f1eas''
your day will have been well spent.
The bears also natural clowns. At
feeding time the seals 60 into their
act as they dive and lunge for
fish-and, best of all, they are out
in the open without intervening
bars to spoil the picture. And
don't miss out on the elephants
lions, tigers and other Of the larger
inmates of the zoo.
Color Will Pay Dividends.
If the lighting is good use color
if you can. It will be especially
effective when taking shots Of the
multicolored birds. Black and
white Aim will be better when the
lighting is poor and for interior
shots. You can, by the way. take
excellent shots indoors in some OF
the buildings if you use fast film
and lens with a maximum aperture
Of at least f3.5-a 25 lens is better
In this case you should shoot with
the lens wide open, taking care
that critical focus is obtained
This will also serve to throw tht
attention on the subject. Do no
waste your film on inside shots i
you do not have a fast lens.
On the outside, where there ar
many natural settings for the ami
mails you can shoot a film from al
"in the wild" angle If you are care
full with your compositions and avoit
including fences and moats in you
shots. Aside from the point Of max
ing ZOO story you can pick up ,
few stock shots here and there IL
this manner that may possibly fl
into some feature that you have IL
mind for the future where animal
in the wild state must be shown.
| AS in other types of movies. close
ups are very important to the inter
est of the film. In the ZOO, wher,
you can't get close to the animals
you will find telephoto lens invalu
able. A sequence of lion tearing
into a huge hunk of raw beef will b,
doubly interesting if you can shov
big closeup of his jaws working
on the meat. Since you can't ge
close to the lion with the camera
the next best thing will be to brini
him close to you with the telephot'
lens. And this brings up the sub
ject of tripod again. Try shooting
without a tripod while the tele
photo lens Is on your camera ant
we'll bet that you won't do it again
Another accessory that should b.
used with this lens is a medium
yellow filter to add pep and contras
to the shot. This. of course, apple