Order In The House

A Hamadryas male keeping the peace in his harem as two younger males fight in his sight. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Grey’s Adventure In The Park

A Grey Squirrel running off after a visit at a graveyard in Barking Park, London. Photo credit: Sarah Chua.

The out-of-camera original had the background a little too bright trying to make sure that the squirrel was well lit.

So in post, the lower portion of the image with the squirrel in it was separately brightened up while exposure for the background was rendered darker. Mid-tones for the whole image were then darkened further a little. This was all done with the DNG raw file.

One Happy Sunbather

An Estuarine Crocodile enjoying the warmth of the sun in the local zoo. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

It was just an hour or so after noon and this croc was already apparently getting too much heat. I managed to photograph it when it opened its jaws to cool down a little. Exposed for the highlights. As a bonus, the water was also still enough to give a mirror-like reflection.

In His Corner

The king looking comfy after his lunch in the local zoo. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Beyond Mere Discomfort

A shivering meerkat keeping a low profile in the local zoo. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

A few distracting bright spots in the background were ‘burned’ away in post and the contrast was tweaked just a little bit.

The Gentle Giant

One of the few Manatees taking a look at visitors through a viewing window at River Wonders. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The tank was dimly lit and cloudy. So I had tried with a nifty-fifty wide open at f/1.8 with the exposure biased 1-1/3 stops darker. In post, shadows were lifted, highlights were pulled back and the image was then exposed to the right with the contrast tweaked a bit.

Fishy Antics

A Giant Otter pursuing a fish in the former River Safari. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

It seemed that this fish had just escaped the jaws of the otter in the nick of time but it was really just a game. It was their feeding time and this otter and his family group had just gotten their fishes. The amusing thing was that they didn’t eat them right away but first played with the dead fishes. They would grab the fishes by their tails and push them in front of them as if they were chasing after them. One even held its fish facing itself and back paddled. It was so hilarious that I had missed capturing that moment.

Lighting was rather good actually but catching them in action was a little tricky with the contrast detection auto-focus system of the Olympus EM10 Mk II.

When The World Seems Upside Down

A Large Flying Fox probably wondering why the photographer seems to like moving about upside down. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

The Thinker

A chimpanzee looking distant in the local zoo. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

There was a little motion blur in the original capture. This was fixed with ‘auto shake reduction’ in post and the image was then converted to black and white.

Wool Over The Eyes

A young Asian Elephant shielding its eyes in the harsh sun. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Afternoon Delight

A pygmy hippo having an afternoon snooze in the local zoo. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Living Among The Graves

A seemingly well-fed and well-groomed dog living in a graveyard in the northwestern part of the island. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.