Photographing through bars

[delusional]

Soo... I've tried a few different approaches for taking pics through cage bars...

Manula focus - but the bunnies are never quite far enough away from the bars to blur them out enough, and the flash always catches the bars and makes them show up even more.

Holding the camera close to the bars, and taking the picture between them - but as you can imagine the position is then not always what you want it to be, and the bun has a tendancy to get out of that oh-so-cute flop in the litterbox you were trying to catch.

So does anyone have any tips for taking pictures of bunners through cage bars?

 

[undergunfire]

What kind of camera do you have?

I have a Canon Rebel Xsi and I've used my "A-DEP" option (I think thats what it was). While I haven't used it on the bunnies, I did use it on a Lovebird at the zoo.....

As you can see, the bars just kind of faded away, LOL.

 

[MikeScone]

delusional wrote:

So does anyone have any tips for taking pictures of bunners through cage bars?

The trick is to get as close to the bars as possible, then make sure that the camera (a) doesn't focus on the bars; and (b) has as wide an aperture as possible (lowest-numbered f/stop) so as to minimize depth of field. That will throw the bars out of focus - possibly eliminate them entirely.

Or, just give up and accept that there will be bars...

 

[kirbyultra]

This looks really cool. I have to try this!

 

[Happi Bun]

Yep, I do what Mike posted.
My camera doesn't make the bars disappear though.
It just blurs them and focuses on the object behind them.

For example:

 

[delusional]

I have a Nikon D40.

I envy that setting on your Xsi Amy! =P

I can get the bars in front to blur slightly, like Erika's example, but not to virtually disappear, which I would obviously prefer.

And it doesn't help that every time I go near the bars, I get furry noses poked through in my face! Lol. Silly uncooperative bunners, don't they know to just sit still and look pretty?

 

[kirbyultra]

delusional wrote:

Silly uncooperative bunners, don't they know to just sit still and look pretty?

Absolutely not! :biggrin2:

 

[Pet_Bunny]

MikeScone wrote:

The trick is to get as close to the bars as possible, then make sure that the camera (a) doesn't focus on the bars; and (b) has as wide an aperture as possible (lowest-numbered f/stop) so as to minimize .

Mike, your first picture isn't showing.

Youcan't avoidbars altogether.
What Mike said, Iwould (a) get as close to the bar to get them out of focus, (b) have anaperture so the bars are not included in the focus, (c) manual focus to make sure the subject is sharp. Sometimes Autofocus gets confused between the bars.

Here is a tip. I always keep my lens hood on my lens.
When shooting through bars, I can press the lens hood against the bar withouttouchingthe barswiththe lens.

 

[MikeScone]

Pet_Bunny wrote:

Mike, your first picture isn't showing.

Must have been a temporary glitch - looks fine to me.

It's important to get the lens aperture as big as possible - the first picture was taken with a 50mm lens at f4 - at f1.4, with the lens almost touching the bars, they disappear nearly completely.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Very cool.
Mike I your first pic isn't showing.

 

[nicolevins]

Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears wrote:

Very cool.
Mike I your first pic isn't showing.

I can see it Mike - lol

 

[Pet_Bunny]

MikeScone wrote:

- the first picture was taken with a 50mm lens at f4 - at f1.4

I still can't see it.

Was itF1.4 or F4? I would liketo see what was in focus.

Here are more tips at eliminating the bars. The key is to keep the barsout ofthe depth of field (the point of focus). (a) Use a telephoto lens, (b) Get the subject farer back from the bars.

The pictures were shot at through the cage bars, with the camera setting of 105mm lens, f5.6, 1/60 of a sec, with flash.

 

[MikeScone]

Pet_Bunny wrote:

MikeScone wrote:

- the first picture was taken with a 50mm lens at f4 - at f1.4

I still can't see it.

Was itF1.4 or F4? I would liketo see what was in focus.

I usually use 1.4, but I checked the EXIF and that was f4 - I think I might have been using a zoom which didn't open any further than that.

Can't explain why the picture doesn't show up for you - I can see it both at home and at work, and I'm at a friend's house now and can see it here.

The URL is http://home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/scone0165.jpg - try that.

 

[Pet_Bunny]

This is what I see. There is a X on the first picture of three pictures.

Or, just give up and accept that there will be bars...

NowI realize you only posted two pictures.I see them both. Don't know why the Xwas showing.

 

[delusional]

Pet_Bunny wrote

(b) Get the subject farer back from the bars.

I'll get practicing my tip-toeing technique then, and see how many bunnies I can sneak up on... h34r2