Big Ape
by bobdaveant

Comment:
What an expression, eh? The eyes just blow me away.

Excellent capture ~

~ bacchus!

Bolivian Spider Monkey
by beamsclan

Comment:
Beautiful expression! Very, very nice.

I almost want to see his little hands clasped on his face, like "The Scream" by Munch (or however it's spelled).

~ bacchus!

Anole
by JOHNBOY1970

Comment:
The power and the glory of the green anole! I actually like that all the greens are threading together ~ but I do wonder if the contrast could be tweaked a bit stronger? Regardless, beautiful subject. I love photographing these little dudes!

~ bacchus

Big Gator
by LVE

Comment:
Persuasive indeed!

Good looking alligator, LVE. They do rule, don't they?

~ bacchus

I Am The Lion.jpg
by hotpasta

Comment:
I have a fairly simple comment for this one:

damn. that's awesome.

!!!

Beautiful detail! And I never thought I'd have a comment like this, but here it is: "Incredibly awesome detail on the nose!" LOL ~ I do mean it, though. This is just SHARP. Very nice!

~ bacchus

Father Kong
by hotpasta

Comment:
Wonderful expression on the subject. It's amazing to me how human primates are. Or how primate humans are. You get the point. I see ourselves in their expressions. Not all that different, in my opinion. Only gorillas tend to be less violent than humans.

With the leafy foreground, I like it. I try to do this somewhat when I'm at the zoo. Especially with primates. Gives a sense of being 'in the bush' or what-have-you. Great capture!

~ bacchus

On the Road Again
by Jutilda

Comment:
"Dreamy" is an understatement! I tend to shy away from the heavy manipulations, as they often seem to "try to hard" ~ you know? But this one really reaches a point for me. It is dreamy and ethereal and works really well for me. It's just gorgeous. And makes me want to float across I-10 in Texas!

Very nice ~

~ bacchus!

Florida Banded Snake
by ArpeggioAngel

Comment:
These dudes are among my favorites! And this is an adorable capture of a tiny little neonate Florida banded. The wee tiny little head popping out of the water . . . just great. I've acutally had a hard time getting deent shots of neonate bandeds. This is more in line with what I've hoped to get!!!

~ bacchus, with a mighty grin!

anole2
by ArpeggioAngel

Comment:
Damn near perfect in my opinion! This is pretty much "what I want to see" with anole and lizard shots. Great subject, awesome framing of subject, and an interesting 'position' ~ the leaf's green and red trim is a great compliment to the lizard's greens, yellows, and blues. Just really, really nice! I can see somebody thinking this is "too grainy" ~ but personally, I like the texture that's present here. It's sharp. Very sharp. And that shows off the anole quite well, in my opinion!

~ bacchus

crocodile monitor
by ArpeggioAngel

Comment:
Zoo shots are tough for me. Dealing with the glass and the lighting is the primary issue, of course. It can just really mess with the composition, you know? In this one, you've got a great capture of the monitor's expression (croc-mon's do have great expressions, don't they?). If I were a photoshop genius (which I am so not), I'd want to hit that golden bar of light at the bottom left. That's the one thing that distracts a bit here. But, that comes with shooting through glass and in artifiial environments beyond your control.

Here's my question for you ~ I've received comments elsewhere about issues like this along the lines of "just photo manipulate" ~ alter the whole image, rework it until it looks great. But I tend to feel like it's cheating a bit. Adjusting the contrast or brightness feels okay, as that could also be tweaked in simple printing ~ it's across the board. But filtering out certain elements of a photograph... Well, it just doesn't feel "right". Maybe it's because I suck at it? LOL ~ Anyhow, do you find yourself in that tension? You could edit out that golden bar, but then that little element of light (which was present) wouldn't be there. And a little distraction/chaos serves the reality a little more. It's almost like "perfect" photos are too unnatural to me.

Anyhow, for what it's worth, I dig this shot. I like the subtle grain and, of course, the subject. Crocodile monitors are fun to shoot (with cameras, not guns...!)

~ bacchus