Thank you very much for sharing Lin. Those are great ideas, and I can see you are coming from the place I am at right now. The software I use is not that great and after looking at Phil's Web site and reading some of the discussions there I am thinking of buying some and doing as you suggest - it is certainly another perspective and well worth trying. The ones I posted are not much manipulated (except in the camera itself). The advice on night photography is great and I can't wait to get home tonight to try it out on the cats!

By the way Lin, the Phil I referred to at the top of this thread is "Philw" and the instructions were for posting pictures. However, I have recently been taking a closer and closer look at Phil Douglis' posts and the Web site, and so if you understood I was referring to Phil D, it is really a wonderful and lucky coincidence

(I won't call it a misunderstanding because from the wording of my post your understanding is the correct one - a very limited number of people would understand exactly what was meant)!

Paul, how funny that I just assumed you meant Phil Douglis. What I would like to do at some point, and maybe you could get there faster, is to post some of my best shots on the website www.pbase.com, and then link it to Phil's page by asking him to review them. He loves to do that. Not only will you get some great professional advice, but you will also hook up with photographers from all over the world with their perspectives- which is a great learning experience. Happy shooting with the cats!

How did I miss this from back in Jan?

Your rhinos were outstanding, the pair, with the lake and birds in the background.

The pair of giraffes looks like an offering is being made. That baboon shot with the flamingos and lake in the background in down right romantic. Some nice lion action with very young cubs. Since dik diks are normally shy, your face shot is amazing. The 3 eles walking away would make a good "the end" shot. The colors look good to me and so does everything else about the shots.

Lin, you are so kind - and so, obviously, is Phil. I have visited pbase and it really is excellent.

Lynn
I put in a couple in there in whcih the colours are are bit washed out (compared to reality anyway) but most are chosen to go with the trip report. There are another 1200 you didn't see. A good example is the lion with the wildebeest kill; it is taken at the same time as the picture of the jackal and about 20 meters apart, but the colours in the jackal picture are fantastic whereas those in the picture of the lion are either washed out or over-intensified by the early mornign sunlight. I know the light is a big factor, but what I was wondering how to compensate for that - at least partially - since this is early morning and clearly going to be a common lighting situation. Or does everyone have this problem and only show the pics that came out like the jackal?

My comments are as a picture taker and not a true photographer. I think most post the best "jackal shots" and throw out or delete the vast majority of all snaps.

I do recall that handsome black backed jackal!

The light does make such a difference and when that's not there, the pictures are just not the same. I think the photo enhancing software can help. I don't do a lot with it.

The only real solution I've found to photos that did not meet my standards was to haul myself back to Africa and try try again.

Oh well, Lynn. Just have to do that then...what a shame ;-)