Caged: Another Week of Exploration

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
― Confucious

Each week, I try to get to the Riverbanks Zoo once or twice in order to explore with my camera.

If you take the time to look, you will find that things not only change daily but minute by minute.  A shift in light can completely change a scene.

Since I have been going to the zoo, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching

the plants change with the seasons.  A Magnolia Tree in the garden area was beginning to bloom, letting guests know that summer is just around the corner.

I was able to find and photograph this one perfect flower.  So many buds promised many more in the coming days.

Feathers have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph.  Each time I visit the zoo, I pass by the enclosure of the Vulturine Guineafowl, hoping to make an image.  This week, I was able to get my first photograph of the feathers.  The birds seem to be in constant motion or an area of the enclosure difficult to photograph through.  I was thrilled to come home with this image.

One day this week, I was able to photograph for about an hour before the rain came.  I spent most of this time watching and photographing the Siamangs.  The Siamangs were very active that morning traveling back and forth on a rope.  I had an idea while watching them for an image I wanted to create.  I photographed the animals in a spot where there were only clouds as background with the intention of creating a composite with them once home.  Photographing them against the clouds would allow me to easily remove the background they were against and replace it with something else.

Once home, I took the pictures I captured of the two Siamangs along with a botanical photo, also taken at the zoo, and created this composite.

It was a wonderful week exploring and working to see creatively in a place where I now visit frequently.