I attended a dog photography workshop a few weeks ago. We had three models, Teddy, Annabelle, and Baylee. Baylee was the most model-friendly because she has been posing for years. One could say she is a diva.
Zoo 2018
My friend Joyce and I decided to go to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C. to see the baby lions born at the zoo recently. Although they were not so little already, they were still super cute. There are three lions and all are female. They were all huddled together but I managed to get some nice shots of the adorable babies. I also got some shots of fish, a tortoise, a gorilla, an iguana, and other assorted animals. My favorite photos were of course of the sweet baby lions. They would not be so sweet if I got into the lion den, but they made for great shots.
Birding
A friend invited me to his house to shoot pictures of the many birds that frequent his front yard. I always wondered how he gets the super close up shots of these birds and the answer is that he hides. By that I mean that he has something called a Hunting Blind, which essentially is a small tent in his yard with a net in the front which is cut out to allow your long camera lens through. You must be extra quiet and not move too much. Basically just sit still and wait and wait and wait. To entice the birds to perch, he stocks a spot with lots of bird food. Eventually your patience pays off when these gorgeous winged creatures perch to eat and, with your long lens, you get remarkably close up shots. I borrowed his long lens for this to test it out to see if I want to buy one for myself.
Parrots
Parrots are such beautiful birds. I happen to have two of them who literally own me. So, I decided to take some pictures upstairs in my studio of my beautiful parrots. They were very cooperative. I used a speed light, LED flashlight, shot into an umbrella. Cord attached to the stand with the speed light and to my camera hot shoe. I used a second umbrella on the other side with a reflector. No tripod was needed. I was pretty pleased with the results.
Columbia Zoo
I took a trip to the Columbia Zoo to get photos of all these wonderful animals. I especially loved the super cute Koalas and Meerkats. The lions we gracious enough to pose for me. All in all it was a great day.[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”10″ gal_title=”Columbia Zoo”]
Brick Pond Park
I recently went out to Brick Pond Park in North Augusta. The day was glorious, with blue skies, blue water, bright green trees, and wildlife. I got a few shots of some adorable turtles sunning themselves on the logs. They seemed to be oblivious to me and my camera.
Animals
These Animal photos are very varied. Some, such as the snake and duck, are from Phinizy Swamp–a beautiful nature preserve in Augusta, GA. As you can see, I am luck enough to have two gorgeous parrots–A Red Sided Eclectus and a Ruby Macaw. The dogs were taken at Clarks Hill Lake, in Augusta.
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- Phinizy Swamp Snake
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- Phinizy Swamp duck
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- Ruby Red Macaw
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- Red Macaw
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- Border Collie with ball
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- Sheep
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- Sheep at herding farm
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- A sheep at farm
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- Sheep at Farm
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- Red Macaw
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- Ram at farm
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- Bird in Naples Zoo
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- Eclectus Parrot
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- Red Sided Eclectus
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- Red Sided Eclectus
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- Red Sided Eclectus macro
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- Husky at Lake
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- Husky
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- Husky at Lake
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- Husky swimming at Lake
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- Husky swimming to dock
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- Lemur at Naples zoo
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- Lemur and Trainer
Marilyn Botta is a writer, and amateur photographer. She recently became interested in digital photography and is constantly perfecting her craft. Please visit her Blog: https://awomanspeaksout.com for some interesting commentary about life.