February 16th, 2022 - Photo Trip to Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

This entry is transferred over from my Facebook post about this visit. It is not so much a narrative, as a series of photos with captions.

I visited Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens this week with the Newcomers Club of Amelia Island, for a photo walk with Nature Photography by John Reed. I was quite pleased with my results - I did much better than I had during my previous visit about a year ago. My photography takeaway was that aperture and speed take priority over ISO. I've probably posted too many photos, but they all brought a smile to my face.

Morning meeting! So, what are we going to do today? Did anything interesting happen last night? The greater flamingos gather to start their day!

I loved the reflection of the water ripples on the feathers of this greater flamingo.

The lioness did not have much energy - has a sad look in her eyes.

I love the giraffe faces. Although the light background was challenging, I loved watching his/her tongue wrap around the vegetation being offered by the zookeeper.

While it's not a great photo, I was drawn to the rolls of flesh at the base of the neck. A horizontal giraffe - not vertical!

Most would call this a fail when it comes to focus, but I decided I liked the camera movement here - especially with the blue block in the gorilla's mouth.

It was difficult to capture these guys through the glass. With a little Lightroom dehaze, this one turned out OK. 

He was lounging back among a group of gorillas. I kept trying to capture teeth. This was my best effort. They were enjoying lolling around in the sun.

The colors are nice in this Caribbean flamingo - glare of the water was hard to manage - tamped it down a bit in Lightroom.

I find the feather on these birds are just beautiful. The detail picked up by my camera (Nikon D5300 with 18-300mm lens) always impresses me. I also think he's boasting about his neck flexibility.

Not a great photo, but I was pleased that none of the wire in front of me showed up. Poor creature just kept pacing back and forth very rapidly - restless.

This little Inca Tern was charming. 

These two had the same itch! The yellow-headed bird is a black-faced ibis, the pink one is a roseate spoonbill.

If anyone knows who this guy is, let me know. I thought his ruffled feathers were gorgeous!

The detail in the feathers of this double-crested cormorant prove that brown and black doesn't have to be boring!

Who doesn't love a pelican. The light background made it tough to get contrast around his neck and head feathers, but again, the detail in his dark feathers is lovely. I'm always entertained by the white drizzles on the post - it seems to go with pelicans.

When we arrived, this big cat was sleeping, so when she lifted his/her head to look at us, we grabbed a photo. 

The regal kookaburra always brings a smile to my face. He's contemplating whether he can 'fly away home'!

The colors in the rainbow lorikeet are so intense - it's almost too much!

On the way home, I stopped near the Fort George River. The graffiti on the bridge brought the thought of a nap to mind.

So, I followed the advice of this osprey - resumed safe normal operation and headed home for that nap!