Zoo and Aquarium Community

Working With the Weather

A very important aspect of visiting and photographing animals at zoos is understanding the weather. Before you go to the zoo, you should always check the weather before you leave. Many animals are brought outside of their indoor enclosure only when a certain temperature is reached.

Chimpanzees at the Maryland Zoo will only come out when it is 50 degrees or warmer. Surprisingly the Big Cats at the National Zoo in Washington DC lets the lions and tigers out in cold weather, which they actually love.

Also please keep in mind that very sunny days can sometimes be hard to photograph in, and i actually prefer cloudy days. With a cloudless day, you will commonly run into the problem of the animal being blanketed with bright light while half the body is dark in the shadows. In this case, there isnt much you can do except curse at the sun!

You would also be wise to visit the zoos during unusual weather conditions, either before, during or after. In the cold winter months, most of the outdoor animals love those warm 50 degree days and many times you can see how much happier they are.

Early Bird Photographs the Bird Catching the Worm

So you have decided to get out on the weekend and visit your favorite zoo? Great idea! If you want to get the best experience from visiting a zoo, i highly suggest visiting as early as possible (with some exceptions). Most zoos open around 10:00pm and close around 6:00pm, with shorter hours in the winter. The National Zoo opens up at 6am, but its hard to find an animal out at that time, especially in the winter.

Photographing while the sun is low will produce stunning results. Shooting at or around sunrise and sunset allows you to "Catch" the eyes of the animal with light, which is very important. I try not to use flash on animals so the only way to light up an animals eyes is to wait to photograph your subject once the light has filled into their eyes.

Most zoos do most of their animal feedings in the morning for breakfast and again sometime before the zoo closes. Almost all animals in zoos live for food and will be very active when they know they are about to be fed. Many animal keepers will enter the exhibit before the animals are released and place food around the enclosure. This means that when the animal is let out, it is usually focused on eating all the food before any other animal can.

Sometimes the animal keepers will feed the zoo animals in front of visitors at a specific time, and they usually will give a talk. The national zoo has a public feeding schedule for almost all the animals, so if you really like a particular one you can find out when it eats and you can get some amazing photos.

Another great time to go to the zoo is around sunset. Most animals sleep at night and depend on the sun for energy during the day. You can find a number of animals sun bathing in the last rays of light in their exhibit, which can make for some pretty photos with a warm sky in the background.

On the other hand, the middle of the day is usually the worst time to visit a zoo. This is usually the hottest time of the day which makes animals want to get out of the heat. Also the middle of the day is usually when the animals are not fed. Finally, mid day is perfect for nap time because of the previous reasons.