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.

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!