The Oregon Zoo.

[JaniceL]

Wrapped up my morning appointments and decided to head to the zoo. It's been years since I've been there. Happily, they have made plenty of changes for the better.

As zoos go, it's a small place and will always be limited by the size of its property boundary. It's still is a great place to take photos. It was bright overcast day but cool enough for the animals to stay active. The biggest challenges to shooting were the heavy glass and the fences.

Here are some of my favorites.

Lioness playing with a bowling ball.

Dinner for two fruit bats.

Another pretty face

Wild dogs

Meerkat

Allen's swamp monkey.

Cheetah

Our future and our hope.

 

[ejones]

can't decide if I like the Meerkat or the Cheetah better.

 

[JaniceL]

can't decide if I like the Meerkat or the Cheetah better.

That is indeed a tough call. I lean towards the meerkat because I like to see some hint of the eyes in my photos. Although each one of these critters have a little story that comes with them.

The meerkat, like all meerkats, was serving on guard duty and it was the end of his watch. He was soon replaced with another. I think that is why he looks like he has a little smile on his face.

Now the cheetah, that is an interesting story. There is a large glass/plexiglass window separating the animals from the people. There was a woman in a wheelchair with a leopard print lap robe on. The cheetah was fixated on it and came right up to the glass and just studied the woman and her "leopard skin."

 

[BobH]

There are animals at the Oregon Zoo? Who knew? (I often visit the zoo and spend the entire day riding and photographing their steam train...)

Actually, I like that zoo a lot, and really like the new Predators of the Serengeti exhibit. Unfortunately, as with most zoos, they're making more and more use of glass partitions between the animals and the guests. I can totally understand that, having a leopard eat one of you guests could give the poor leopard indigestion. However, from a photography point of view, the barriers present a challenge. Fingerprints and reflections on the glass can be problematic.

The exhibits are also designed to give animals places to rest and relax out of public view. Again, that's understandable, they need to be able to feel safe and comfortable. But it's another challenge, as you can end up waiting a while to see activity.

Of course, if you enjoy photographing animals like tigers and lions, there's only a few places you can go. Oregon Zoo is one of the best, and the zoo is highly rated, especially for their elephant breeding program.

 

[JaniceL]

Bob, I remember it when I was a child. The enclosures were small and depressing with bars in the front. Even a few years ago I found it depressing to see them pacing in their small spaces. Now they seem so much more natural.

Several of the areas had places where I could shoot over an open fence, with the glass being closest to the animals. But I solved that issue with my 100 to 400 telephoto fully extended. That also had the nifty effect of blurring out the cyclone fencing. You don't even see it in the monkey shot.

Yes, having the residents eat the guests would not only be impolite but bad for business. I could solve some of the reflection issues with a polarizing filter since it was bright enough and if the animals weren't moving. I found if I shot at an angle my auto focus ran amok so I had to do a lot by hand.

I think it is a pretty nice zoo now. The animals are pretty visible. I had other shots tow but these were my favorites. Speaking of favorites, it is the lioness and the bowling ball. She was just plain fun to watch and had some fun shots of her too.

 

[Tony S]

HOly cow... Do you see the size of the paws on that kitty in the first shot? I really like the last show making the kids look so small compared to the sea lions.

 

[BobH]

By the way, that's one of the nicest hippo shots I've seen, very well done.

 

[JaniceL]

Thank you Bob. Yes, Tony those are some paws. I'd hate have him use my futon for a scratching post.

 

[JaniceL]

Tony, look at the grip she has on that bowling ball? She rolled it into the window a couple times. Glad it was very strong. Everybody did step back some and then there was the sound of relieved laughter.