Cocoa Beach, FL

Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 0.6s, 100mm, f/11, ISO 400
American Bison, Rosamond Gifford Zoo
It has been a couple of years since I visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. I typically went out in January for their annual photo contest. Now they do a contest every month but I felt I needed to stick to tradition and visit in the beginning of the year.
I thought by picking a weekend without an event it would lessen the crowds. I was even at the zoo as soon as it opened. My plans were slightly torpedoed. The zoo became crowded pretty quickly. I made the rounds outside first and by the time I was back to the buildings it was difficult to spend even a few minutes at each display alone.
I did manage to get to the American Bison before they were shepherded into their building so the employees could clean their paddock and refresh their food. I liked this one as he showed me how easy it is to stick out your tongue and touch your nose…
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
This is the last weekend for the photo contest at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. I’m hoping I can make it out again on Sunday. The forecast is for some sun in the morning changing over to snow and clouds in the afternoon. I’m thinking early Sunday morning will be a quiet time at the zoo and I’ll have the place to myself. Until then, here is one of the Red Pandas talking to his companions up in the tree…
Patas Monkey, Rosamond Gifford Zoo
This is not one of the images I picked to process from my trip to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo last week. I thought because I did not capture the face or focus on the eyes (as I have read is the right thing to do) I passed this one in my selection process.
As I sat down to work on my images this one kept speaking to me. Every time I saw this monkey I felt something for him. Maybe it is the feeling of solitude or loneliness. Thinking back to my time in front of the exhibit I realized it was his indifference to the activity from the other monkeys and even for those of us looking through the glass. Maybe I’m attributing too much, maybe not…