Hippos heading into the water

These hippos at Werribee Open Range Zoo are a mother and two daughters. They had been out for a bit, and decided it was time to get wet. Not a radical decision for a hippo.

Click on the images below to see them larger.

These images were all shot on the Sony 200-600mm G on a Sony A7RV in Animal subject recognition mode, which locked onto the lead hippo’s eye in each case. I’ve put the exposure details on each image.

That’s quite a splash from a single hippo foot in the second image

Lazing on a Sunday afternoon…

Summer has started a little hesitantly where I live, but the first Sunday in December was a lovely day, barely a hint of a cloud, bright sunshine, but not too hot. The reflection in the water is pristine, so there’s not a breath of wind. It’s a good time to relax, soak in the sunshine, and maybe listen to Queen’s song.

Shot with the new Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II on a Sony A1. The shot above was take at 111mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 200 (due to auto-ISO). The image is uncropped.

To demonstrate that it wasn’t just the hippos taking a leisurely approach to the day, here are a couple of lions luxuriating in the warmth. The younger of the two clearly thinks the older makes a good footrest.

Image

This shot was taken at 148mm, but all the other settings are the same.

The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS mark II is proving to be a very pleasant lens to use.