And now for something different. This spring I spent the day at the San Diego Zoo learning some camera techniques that helped with photographing animals. Particularly, I learned how to use Automatic ISO with a minimum shutter speed. I wanted to keep my shutter speed high enough to capture moving subjects, sometimes in low light or shadows. I was using a 100-400 lens so I chose a minimum shutter speed of 1/400 sec. Enough with the technical. Here are some photos.

My favorites from the day were these shots of the Sleepy Flamingo and another with just its feathers.

The photo below was taken earlier in the day, when the light harsher. I often like to find dark backgrounds to make the subject stand out as with the two photos below.

I spend the bulk of the day with various apes. It was especially moving to watch one woman converse through the glass with one of the gorillas. She was a regular visitor to the zoo and knew this particular gorilla over several years. She was showing it a photo of another gorilla and talking to it through the glass. The gorilla was intent with eyes on this woman and her photo. I didn’t get of photo of her, but here are some others.

To see more from this outing, click here.

Most of my photos are available to purchase. There are two ways to do this. You can contact me and let me know which photo you are interested. I will have it printed and/or mounted locally. In this case I will be able to inspect it before it goes out, work with the printer and you will receive a signed copy.

The other way to purchase is through my online store. In case you didn’t notice, I started adding a “Prints Available” clickable link at the bottom of some photos. If you click this link it takes you to that photo in my online store where you can purchase it. The online store offers a variety of products, including art prints on various materials, greeting cards and puzzles.

Calendar Sales

I am ending my campaign to raise money through calendar sales, though you can still purchase one. As promised all proceeds from sales were donated to an environmental group. I raised $288 and split it between two groups. $200 went to The Nature Conservancy. I liked that they were matching donations, so $200 became a $400 donation. I donated $88 to the World Wildlife Fund. Among other things, I like that they offer materials and programs to help educate youth about how to take care of the environment.

THANK YOU to everyone who purchased a calendar! And if you still want one, click here.

Loose Ends

Here are a few photos from November/December this year.

To see more from this gallery, click here.