3.10.12 Facebook cover update: Paul Donn, San Diego Zoo Silverback Gorilla

Paul Donn

A few years back on a trip to southern California for the wedding of two dear friends (which happens to be the birth place of Table 5) a few of us took the time to spend the day at the San Diego Zoo. To call the zoo amazing is an understatement! I'd list it as a wonder of the world that everyone should visit at least once in their life time... needless to say a photographers paradise. 

I'm sad to say that with the exception of the images I shot at the wedding I haven't explored the rest of the images made on that trip and they sit in the "too view" list along with two trips to Arizona and a bag of undeveloped rolls of film from a trip to Utah! I should have been in that movie Slacker! Anyway, as part of my attempt to update my fan page cover daily I delved into the unknown and came up with this gem. Looking at it now I can still remember the pure power that Paul Donn projected while pacing behind the protective glass. 

100 ISO, 2.8 @ 1/50 custom WB 

3.7.12 Facebook cover photo: Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal

Today's facebook cover photo is The Northern Cardinal. The backstory isn't too exciting but may be a lesson in the virtues of having ones gear nearby and neatly organized. My office is, for better or worse, next to our kitchen. Good for convenience to the coffee machine, bad for convenience to the supply of chocolates my sister-in-law keeps us in from her shop. Anyway, one morning this past January while pouring myself a fresh cup I happened to spy our friend here sitting in the bush in our backyard. He's not one to linger so I stepped into my office and without thinking I knew exactly where my 70-200 was and how it was facing so that with next to no fumbling I could remove one lens and replace it with the other in one smooth motion. So the tip there kids is that if you shoot on the fly then have your lenses in the same place with the red mounting dot placed in the same direction every time. Over time you develop a pattern of sorts that will save you valuable seconds, which came in handy here because this guy flew off moments later.