{"id":4331,"date":"2013-08-01T06:59:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T10:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2017-07-15T12:30:52","modified_gmt":"2017-07-15T16:30:52","slug":"october-1-2013-program-night-with-zoo-photographer-don-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/october-1-2013-program-night-with-zoo-photographer-don-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"October 1, 2013 – Program Night with Zoo Photographer Don Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Animal\/Zoo Photography<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Don Johnson<\/p>\n

www.sunspotimages.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"1109261342031memphis_g_t\"<\/p>\n

I love to take photos of animals, whether in the wild or at a zoo.\u00a0 However, taking photos of animals in the wild presents a host of problems for a photographer.\u00a0 Are the animals where you think they will likely be?\u00a0 What is the terrain like \u2013 can you reach them?\u00a0 Are the animals difficult to approach \u2013 do they scurry away when they see people?\u00a0 How much time do you have to photograph the animals?\u00a0 Are the animals likely available all day, or for just part of the day?\u00a0 While many of us have overcome these problems, it is oblivious that the list of problems relating to photographing animals in the wild is long.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, you can take great animal photos in the wild, but it takes work and preparation.<\/p>\n

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\"0510301506112phx_v_baboon_2-0_10-22-05_t\"A zoo is an excellent place to photograph animals.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 Unlike in the wild, the animals are always<\/span> there \u2013 you know when you go a zoo that the animals will actually be there, no matter the time of day or the season of the year.\u00a0 They are also used to people so they are not as skittish, and certainly can not run off when they see a photographer.\u00a0 In many cases the animals are also rather exotic.\u00a0 To produce an image of a lion in the wild, for example, you would have to travel to Africa \u2013 a costly and time consuming endeavor.\u00a0 The local zoo can be much more affordable.\u00a0 And you can go back time after time after time to get the perfect image.\u00a0 And if a particular animal is not in a good position, or in poor lighting, you can simply move on to the next exhibit.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0 A zoo environment still presents problems for a photographer.\u00a0 The animals may be asleep or not very active.\u00a0 The backgrounds or foregrounds of enclosures can pose difficulties.\u00a0 Opening and closing times can reduce access when the lighting is best.\u00a0 Screens, cages, glass reflections and people hanging out near the exhibits can be a challenge when you are looking to produce naturalistic looking images.\u00a0 You also may be unable to use the images you produce for commercial purposes unless you check with the zoo first.\u00a0 But if you are looking to produce wonderful images of animals, please consider the zoo.\"0906071834051flamingo__t\"<\/p>\n

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As with any animal photography,\u00a0the creatures may not do what you want them to do — the animals may be turned the wrong way, not very active, or simply won\u2019t look in your direction.\u00a0 The lighting may be poor.\u00a0 But this is nothing new with animal photography.\u00a0 It goes with the territory.<\/p>\n

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\"1302250829161green_crested_basilisk_bp_t\"Believe it or not, I have visited 52 different zoos across North America, and one in Europe.\u00a0 Some are excellent.\u00a0 Most are wonderful.\u00a0 And frankly, some are rather depressing.\u00a0 But all\u00a0have provided me with an opportunity to get \u201cup close and personal\u201d with a variety of local and exotic animals for photographic purposes.<\/p>\n

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In my presentation, I will show examples of my zoo photography.\u00a0 I will provide tips describing how I took the images, including how to photograph through a fence or through glass.\u00a0 I will also discuss the equipment I use.\u00a0 I will, additionally, tell some interesting stories of my experiences at various zoos.\u00a0 You can learn a lot by\u00a0going to a zoo \u2013 both in terms of photography and in terms of animal behavior.\"1308290639401prarie_dog_3-0_f_lr_8-17-13_j158_t\"<\/p>\n

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We have some excellent zoos in this area.\u00a0 You should consider going sometime in the relatively near future.\u00a0 You may surprise yourself and produce some outstanding images.<\/p>\n

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Bio:<\/p>\n

I have been a serious amateur photographer since the mid-1980s.\u00a0 I first learned the basic elements of photographic design, composition, and equipment taking a photography course while in college, back in the \u201cdark ages\u201d when everything was done manually and film was the only way to produce an image.\u00a0 After graduation in 1971, I pursued other important activities such as career building and raising a family, but I always maintained an avid interest in photography.<\/p>\n

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In the mid-1980\u2019s, I returned to the hobby of photography on a more serious basis.\u00a0 My wife reignited my interest in the activity after giving me a new camera one year for the holidays.\u00a0 Much to her chagrin, this stimulated further photography equipment purchases, but also inspired me to produce better images.<\/p>\n

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Over the years, I have had a number of my photographs published.\u00a0 In February 1997, Popular Photography<\/i>, billed as \u201cthe world\u2019s largest imaging magazine,\u201d selected one of my photographs for their \u201cYour Best Shot\u201d column.\u00a0 I have also produced cover photographs for The AOPA Pilot<\/i> magazine and Ballooning: The Journal of the Ballooning Federation of America<\/i>.\u00a0 I also had three of my images published in the fall 2006 issue of Nature\u2019s Best<\/i> magazine, one of which appeared on the cover of the issue.\u00a0 Another photograph in the issue was selected as the top \u201cZoo and Aquarium\u201d photograph of the year.\u00a0 The winning \u201cZoo and Aquarium\u201d image, along with another image from the publication, were displayed at the Smithsonian Institution\u2019s National Museum of Natural History between November 2006 and October 2007.\u00a0 I have also been published in Zoogoer<\/i>, a publication for the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ).\u00a0 I have appeared a number of times in Photoshop Elements Techniques<\/i> magazine, a publication devoted to educating users of this excellent computer software program, my primary digital editing software.<\/p>\n

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Over the years, I have won a number of awards in various local photography competitions and have had a number of my images displayed in various locations in the DC area.\u00a0 I have also won numerous awards at BetterPhoto.com<\/i>, an online photography community that receives upwards of 15,000 photo submissions a month for their monthly photo contest.\u00a0 I am also very proud of the fact that I have sold a number of my photographs to people I don\u2019t even know!<\/p>\n

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I am a past President of the Gaithersburg Camera Club and a former President of the Frederick Camera Clique, a photography club located in Frederick Maryland.\u00a0 In addition to maintaining my active membership in these two clubs, I am also a current member of the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) Photography Club.\u00a0 I have spoken at most of the photo clubs in the DC area.<\/p>\n

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I use Nikon equipment and I am currently exploring the world of digital photography with a Nikon D300 digital camera.\u00a0 I love to travel and always take my camera when I go someplace new for either business or pleasure.\u00a0 I especially enjoy taking photographs of zoo animals, flowers, sunsets\/sunrises, famous places, and producing photo abstracts using a computer.\u00a0 For me, photography is a life long hobby \u2014 one that I plan on enjoying until I can no longer push the shutter release button.<\/p>\n

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In the real world, I work for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, an organization located in Arlington, Virginia, as the Association\u2019s Director of Market Research.<\/p>\n

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My family seems to think that most of the salary I earn goes to fund my photography \u201caddiction,\u201d but that is not really true \u2014 or at least I think it\u2019s not really true.\u00a0 Lately, I\u2019m afraid to check.<\/p>\n

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I live in Gaithersburg, Maryland with my wife.\u00a0 I have three grown children.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Animal\/Zoo Photography \u00a0 Don Johnson www.sunspotimages.com   I love to take photos of animals, whether in the wild or at a zoo.\u00a0 However, taking photos of animals in the wild […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programs","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/0512131253511lion_attack_blured_4-0_11.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 10:55:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4331"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10971,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4331\/revisions\/10971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nvps.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}