Tuesday, May 19, 2015

05/03/15 Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo: Peoria, IL

A photogenic peacock at Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo outside Peoria, IL

On May 3rd, I ventured to Wildlife Prairie Park Zoo near Edwards, IL. I spent most of the morning and early afternoon photographing some of the animals at this zoo with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 II L IS lens. It was another superb spring day to be outdoors. Once again, I was able to capture some great shots of the animals on this day as was the case last summer as well seen here. I've added photos I shot from this particular day below:

 An amazing bald eagle
 A goat posing for a photo!
 I was quite happy to finally photograph a peacock at this zoo...
Love this shot!
Not one, but two bald eagles in one shot!
 I shot quite a few shots of the peacocks that were out-n'-about of course...
 Quack, quack, quack...
Magnificent!
The goats really cooperated on this morning!
A close-up of the bald eagle!
A chipmunk ran out in front of my path and posed for a quick photo!
 One of the most photogenic animals to photograph indeed!
I thought this was a cool shot as well...
Quite a photogenic goat!
 Wowsers, thanks to the sun angle!
 Another duck...
 A noisy chicken
 Ducks, were quite plentiful at this zoo...
 Another peacock shot!
 I took way too many photos of these guys...
 "On the move"
 A wolf
 Another neat shot!
 One more to end the day on...

Another successful day of photography in the books. I'll update once again when I find some more down time to venture outdoors once again...

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

05/02/15 Glen Oak Park Zoo: Peoria, IL

A Bengal tiger relaxing on a tranquil spring morning at Glen Oak Park Zoo in Peoria, IL

On May 2nd, I visited Glen Oak Park Zoo in Peoria, IL in hope to capture some worthy photos of the animals on a beautiful spring day. I spent most of the day in the park photographing the animals with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.0-5.6 II L IS lens. This was my first time using this particular lens at a zoo after purchasing it a couple months ago. I was very pleased with the results especially shooting through fences. It did an amazing job! I actually visited this zoo last summer as well seen here. Anyhow, I've posted several great images of the animals I photographed during the day below:

 A mandrill striking a pose!
 "Sleeping giant"
"Peak-a-boo"
One of two giraffes
An antelope grazing!
"Be afraid, very afraid"
 I was quite pleased with this shot!
A sea lion taking a swim...
One of my favorites of the zebras!
One of the tigers lounging around again...
The mandrill grabbing a snack...
"The men who stare at goats"
A close-up of the Bengal tiger!
"Love at first sight"
A male lion
A colobus monkey!
Another giraffe shot!
A rhino you don't want to mess with...
A female lion!
"Bout to pounce"
Another goat relaxing...
The male lion once again...
Another favorite!
 A peacock
 A fairly large toad
 The giraffes were definitely out-n'-about...
 Beautiful!
 A wider angle of the female lion...
 "Eye contact"
 One last photo from the day...

This was a very successful day of photography as the animals definitely enjoyed the amazing spring weather which allowed me to capture some great shots. On May 3rd I visited another local zoo and I'll feature photos from that day in another upcoming post.