Sunday, February 26, 2012

P52/Week 8: "Light" and Zoo Visit

The week was flying by as usual and as mostly usual, the weather here was dreary, rainy and uninspiring. Uninspiring on lots of fronts but, especially for a photo challenge called "Light."  Nothing was coming to me.
On Saturday we made a visit to the zoo for their Polar Bear Day. Nico's current animal love is this biggest and cutest of beasts, so there was our motivation to get out on a coooollllldddd day.

While we waited for the 2:30 Enrichment Activities to begin we claimed our spot in the tunnel that carries viewers beneath the bears swimming pool.  It was warmer there than the above ground outdoor viewing areas.  When the bear made her splash into the water and the crowd exclaimed to see the bear coming toward us, back lit by the glinting water, Jt said, "This can be your light shot."  I'm glad he said it because it put me in the right frame of mind for considering the light and not just the cute bear doing cute bear things.


She was cleaning her face here, but we laughed that she was playing peek-a-boo.

Oh, and talk about cute.  These two are just so playful and active. It's a joy to see the sea otters every time we visit the zoo. They push off the sides of their tank and just enjoy the ride, dipping under the water and avoiding each other in just the nick of time with a flip and a splash.

We checked out some of the non-water-loving animals, of course. Lots were not to be found on this chilly day, but those we did see were a bit more active than usual.  We really wanted to see the new baby gorilla, but mom had her elsewhere, unfortunately.

Not sure if this leopard thought we couldn't spot him behind those branches, but, well, we could.  He's in a new enclosure since the last time we were there and seems a bit more comfortable.  He always paced in circles before, this time he was relaxing and cleaning himself.

Here's another I took at the Water's Edge (where the polar bears and sea otters are).  The sand tiger sharks are definitely a sight to see. They swim sooo slowly, which is great when you're trying to catch a photo of them and they're in the right spot... annoying when they're in the wrong spot and you have to wait for them to come around.  How rude. LOL
My boys on the other hand have an amazing tolerance for their mom and her desire to get the right shot and will stay still as needed. As you can tell, my photography is very much made possible by my supportive family. :-)
So this is the one I used for the "Light" entry at My 4 Hens

Heading over to Flickr to see some of the other entries...



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