Someday I promise I’ll get back to working through the Glacier pictures. For now, though, here are more from last week’s visit to the zoo.
I knew something was up as I approached the Pronghorn Antelope exhibit. There were a couple of guys with cameras on tripods with honking massive lenses shooting away. They kept jockeying for better positions, and guys with that kind of equipment don’t get worked up over animals peacefully grazing, so I scurried over.
Sure enough, a couple of males were sparring. Although it’s winter to us, I know my birds feel spring coming as the days lengthen and are starting to show signs of breeding behavior. So it is with these antelope:
The other excitement was seeing the new Dhole exhibit. Dhole are a wild dog from Asia, and very few are left…less than 1,500, as I remember. The zoo is part of a breeding program, and they’ve brought in two males and two females.
I just love their fur. I wish my hair were this color!
Once I was done walking around outside, I headed for the aquariums. I’ve tried a couple of times before for a good turtle picture. I finally got one I liked. This is a Red-Eared Slider. Kinda sounds like what you’d call a White Castle hamburger with a lot of ketchup on it, doesn’t it? Not that I’ve ever eaten one. The hamburger, that is. Or a turtle, for that matter:
Yellow Perch on the other hand, I may have eaten a time or two:
Really nice shots Amy. The turtle shot is awesome, great colors great dof. Spot on!
Thanks, Geoff! I made several attempts at those turtles during a couple of trips before finally getting a keeper. At first, I used my telephoto, but it turns out the kit lens is a better choice.
The other challenge with the aquarium animals is tight, crowded quarters. I’m totally content with standing and waiting for a shot to emerge, and it doesn’t bother me to have urchins running around underfoot. It’s a zoo, after all! But some parents worry and start apologizing for their kids running in front of the camera. It gets distracting to reassure yet another parent that the kids should do what the kids want to do, and I simply work around them. So it’s a matter of trying to find a moment when there are fewer folks there and hoping an animal is in a favorable position.
I initially wondered if I would find zoo photography boring–like shooting fish in a barrel. But it turns out that shooting animals is fun and challenging no matter where you do it!
Re: shooting animals is fun and challenging no matter where you do it!
I totally agree. I always loved shooting at the zoo. It’s like a cross between wildlife photography and pet photography. And considering the 100′s of hours I’ve spent poring over Herbert Axelrod’s literary contributions, I really appreciate great fish pictures. They are as difficult and rewarding as birds as subjects I think.
Axelrod…that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time! Reef fish are sometimes called “the birds of the sea.” They are definitely complex creatures worthy of their own study!