On New Years Eve, Anya and I took a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. The nice weather and the holiday meant that the place was swarming with hundreds of kids, so we didn't get as many good shots as I wanted, but I did get some nice ones of the lions.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/100 sec at f/6.4. OS Mode 1. ISO 200. No post production. Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.

Why This Photo: The two lions were enjoying the warmer weather and were interacting with the crowds a bit while resting on their heated rock.

What Works: The eye contact with the lioness and the catch-light in the eye of the male lion are good aspects to draw in the viewer's attention, with sharp focus in the areas that need it most but a soft defocused background to reduce distractions. The placement of the male lion's head rests right on one of the thirds hot-spots.

What Doesn't Work: The lioness's paws just barely break the edges of the frame, and the dark tree trunk in the background is a little distracting behind the lioness's head. And perhaps the shot would have been better with eye contact with both lions.

The other thing we did on Friday was pick up the equipment necessary to take the 7D diving with us during our upcoming trip to Indonesia, so I'll be posting some about that here in the coming days. However, I will need to prepare for the trip, and get as much practice in with the new rig as possible, so posts might be a little slow for a while.

Regardless, thanks for stopping by, and here's hoping you had a safe and happy new year's eve/day and that 2011 treats you well!

- Bill