July 2020 – Mark Vawser
In July the UK slowly began to re-open from lockdown, museums got the go ahead to open and London Zoo quickly followed suit. desperate for a solid photography day I booked a ticket the week of it’s re-opening. The one way system that was in place was somewhat easy to navigate but when you want to get the best angle be prepared to break the rules (just a little). So with no more rambling here is my London Zoo Gallery.
African Colobus Monkey
I wanted to start with my favorite photo. It was a hot day by English standards and the apes in their coats looked hot. The Colobus Monkey’s simply looked sad.
I deliberately darkened the photo to reduce the glare from the glass. The green/aqua of the wall worked fantastically with the monochrome of the subjects.
The tail though, I kept coming back to the tail hanging down and I had to keep it in.
Overall I just felt lucky to take this photo. To see two animals finding comforting each other in a hot enclosure is a mood.
African black-footed penguins
Flamingo
Meercat
Western Lowland Gorilla
The biggest challenge with this photo was eliminating the glare from the glass. You can reduce its impact but its almost impossible to fully eliminate it. Reducing the colour and using the ‘Dehaze’ slider on Lightroom goes a long way.
African lions
African Hunting Dogs
Giraffe
Dwarf Mongoose
Dwarf Mongoose
The Dwarf Mongoose were a photographers dream. There were dozens of them in their enclosure, they were active, and they look directly at you. The only problem was deciding what one to photograph!
Zebra
Eagle
Castleforge Photography
Mark Vawser
Australian Travelling Photographer and History Teacher based in London.
Every picture has a story to tell and if not then I’ll invent one.
