Living Desert, Feb 2016

My wife and I are members and frequent visitors of the Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA. Like other zoos every visit is different. Even though I’ve seen these animals many times, there’s always a new way to capture or interpret them. Sometimes you catch animals that were sleeping on previous visits, on a day when they’re very active. Sometimes I’m captivated by a particular animal I’d practically ignored on prior visits because something is different.

Photographically, I like to bring my camera and see if I can capture the same animal in different light, different pose or using a different technique.Either way, it also gives me a chance to practice techniques I’ll later use photographing wildlife – in the wild.

We recently visited the park and I was thrilled to see the Kit fox playing and the Mexican wolf in some wonderful light. The Cuvier’s Gazelle provided an opportunity to try a high-key technique, and there were several garden paths I’d never noticed before, that provided wonderful frames of vegetation in and light. Here are some pics from our visit on Saturday.

Cuvier’s Gazelle, Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA

Garden Path, Living Desert

Desert kit fox, Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA

Mexican Wolf, Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA

Big horn Sheep, Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA