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Mayagüez is home of the Juan A. Rivero Zoo and at this time, is the only Zoo in the island of Puerto Rico. The Mayaguez Zoo is home of numerous exotic & endemic birds, mammals and reptiles. Bengal Tigers, Leopards, beautiful Eagles and Owls can be appreciated here. The zoo is attractively landscaped resemblig from an African Savanah to a Rain Forest.Open Wed-Sun from 8:30am to 4:00pm. (787) 834-8110. Scroll down if you'd like to read some fun photo facts/tips from our trip to el Zoológico de Mayagüez.
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Picture of the Birds and Reptiles
area in the Mayaguez Zoo
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Being ourselves visitors of other zoos in the states, we were amazed that this particular zoo is a photographers friendly one. The vast mayority of the animals in exhibition are caged in a way where they receive a proper amount of sun/available light making our shooting much easier. First, if you are going with your family, the traditional zoo pictures can be 100% improved. Take pictures of your kids and their surrounding so 15 years later they will recognize ''That was at the Mayaguez Zoo!''; However, approching the animals photograpically visitors have two choices. 1st, Taking pictures showing caged animals? Ask yourself if that's what you want to have on paper when printed. Go beyond the conventional a make your zoo snaps more interesting. 2nd, based on the pictures shown here: Do you think we had special privileges to achieve them? The answer is no, they were taken as visitors like you but with a slight difference, we wanted to show animals as much as we could like if they were in the wild. Here a few tips: 1- If you are using a film camera, get at least 800 speed film. This will increase your chances of getting sharper images under evenly distribuited light. If you are using a digital camera, increase the ISO (see your camera's manual if in doubt). 2- Approach the animal(s) in a subtle way, even though they are used to have people lurking them, they are still afraid of you moreover a bunch of 5+ people at a time. 3- If possible, visit the zoo on weekdays when is less crowded. 4- You might wonder: How can I shoot the birds with that wire mesh on the way? Considering you are using a zoom camera, frame your subject using your digital LCD (for digital users) or viewfinder (film users). If your camera is one of AF (Auto Focus), switch the AF OFF and go M (manual focus); Leaving the camera in AF mode will make your camera to focus on the cage's mesh instead of the animal. Focusing manually will make the mesh magically dissapear; Manually focus until you get the eyes of the animal(s) in focus. No matter the subject, when you look at a picture first thing you do is looking to the eyes. If they aren't in focus you've lost the shot :o( 5- Remember that whatever you see thru the camera is what you'll get in paper. We've seen many people with the mentality, ''I shoot now and I'll ''crop'' at Walgreens, Sams or Walmart'', unfortunately expecting a 'miracle' from the digital kiosk; Cropping is fine, but the more you crop the more you loose file size, thus a nice 4x6 print suddenly looks vividless and poor when enlarged to 8x10+ to share with grandma and grandpa. Our suggestion, don't crop more than 15% of your digital files. You never know if in the future you'd like to blow that shot, then you'll be limited. |
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