Zoooooooooooooooo!

Rare is the day that Isaac, Hanna, and I all have free time. When the stars align and we get such an opportunity, we try to make as much of our family day as possible. With spring in North Carolina already starting to get into gear, we figured we should head over to the North Carolina Zoo before the weather got too sticky and the crowds too big.

I really enjoy taking photos of the animals, and now I enjoy the zoo even more because I get to experience all the sights and wonders through Isaac’s eyes. One animal that has eluded me photographically over the years is the rhinoceros–they tend to be far away, obscured, back turned, or otherwise difficult to photograph. On this trip, though, in addition to getting some of my favorite photos of other animals, I finally got some rhino photos that I’m happy with.

Though the North American animals are generally my favorites (other than the rhinos), the African animals proved generally more animated and photogenic on this trip.

We are very fortunate to have such a great zoo in North Carolina–natural-looking habitats abound, and space is plentiful.

And, of course, Isaac had a blast, seeing the animals and then riding the carousel.

On a more photographically relevant note, I find photographing animals at the zoo to be a great exercise in practicing composition. As a portrait shooter, I naturally seek the animal portraits when I’m there, but framing them is very different than how you would frame a human’s face. Elephants, for example, have strong and competing vertical and horizontal energies–their spread ears yell horizontal! while their long trunks and tusks argue for vertical. In the end you try both, and play around and see what works best. I chose black and white for these because I feel like the textures, contrasts, and light were all more important elements that were overshadowed by the colors, even though the red mud on the elephants contrasted beautifully with the green spring vegetation.