Last year I went to a zoo on average once a month. In 2018 Artis was the first zoo I saw. So there are still quite a few visits to be made …
Artis is a beautiful old zoo. Beautiful old buildings. And Artis is busy giving the animals better housing, while the old buildings and the atmosphere remain. A good example is the building where I made the following two photos. The animals have a lot of room to move in old buildings, where on the inside walls and interior have been removed and more natural surroundings are created.
The first photo is a Pygmy marmoset. This is the smallest monkey breed in the world. They look a bit like small gremlins. They also behave a bit like that. They are tiny bullies, but very cute!
This Chinese water dragon inhabited the same area. It is somewhat easier to photograph, because they sit nicely and is the perfect photo model.
Young animals in the zoo are always fun. These two meerkats were the center of the group with two other babies.
Another lucky moment was this young Somali giraffe. Just a few days old. It was his second day outside. what a beautiful sight.
The aquariums are also very worthwhile. I used to visit that one with a school class for biology. It did not change much in the past 40 years. I often hang around at the lion devils for a long time. Hoping for a nice shot of these special fish.
At home, editing of the photos starts. I love that too. Some shots always end up in monochrome. Below 3 examples.
The 20-year-old male lion who lives with two daughters in Artis. He is getting old. His condition is not good, but they try to do everything to give him a good life.
A peacock. He was behind a fence, so I could not photograph the beautiful tail he showed. Color is beautiful, but I found the symmetry of the body with that stubborn headshot a beautiful picture too.
Finally, mother Somali giraffe. A beautiful lady and so enormously high. Fantastic!
