Crown of Light (190/365)
I didn’t wake up to an account being hacked, so I made my zoo trip today. I could only make it an hour and a half in this heat. My Z8 was getting way too hot; it was a clear win for the F3. It just tanked along with no issues. Something to be said for yesterday’s technology.
Got some decent shots and shot a roll in the F3 with Ilford Vintage Tone Color film. Can’t show you those yet… film builds patients. It has been very good for me to shoot more film. It’s really slowing me down, manual focus, setting your aperture and shutter speed, reading the light, all give you time to study your subject. I like it. It brings back good memories, and the older I get, the more I like good memories.
19 more pictures in Stray Pixels and, warning, a little rant about zoos. If you don’t want to read a rant, just ignore the text and look at the pictures.
Click for Stray Pixels
I have to say it. I can’t not say it: I loathe zoos.
If I were in charge, zoos would have very high minimums for space and quality of life—so high that there wouldn’t be many zoos left. You can look into the eyes of these creatures and see the sadness. Yes, I know I’m anthropomorphizing, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. As an avid watcher of nature shows, I can’t be convinced these animals are happy and living full lives. They are not. These incredibly intelligent birds are kept in small cages, alone, while hordes of people gawp at them all day. It’s sad.
I know, I contributed to it today. And I’m not sure what to do about that. Do you support them so they have money to properly care for the animals, or stop going, hoping they go out of business? There is no good answer. We need stronger standards. I haven’t been to this zoo in many, many years. There will be many more before I return. My heart can’t take it.
I met a toucan‑sort‑of bird today that kept bringing me things and dropping them toward me. I would move from one side of his cage to the other, talking to him, and he kept bringing me things, looking at me. You know what I’m going to say, right? Yeah, I think he was trying to pay me for breaking him out. Or just wanted some interaction, something to do. He has no partner, no mate, nothing natural at all. There, I said it.
He was alone, with no space to fly or forage—no space for anything at all but to sit there all day in what turned out to be 115°F / 46°C. The last bird I photographed broke my heart. It just stared at you with soulless eyes. It looked defeated.
Yeah, I know, some zoos do good work and science, help rehabilitate animals, and breed endangered species, and that’s all wonderful. But these small enclosures and cages are unacceptable. And don’t even get me started on factory farms. If you can watch a video about how pigs, chickens, and cows are treated, then contribute to that… it all just makes me sad.
