El Paso Zoo in the middle of the night

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Due to a "hook up" from a friend, we were able to get into the El Paso Zoo after hours, 11:00pm to be exact. There were seven of us in total, four of us with cameras. Our goal was to get photos of the animals during their nocturnal hours. It proved easier said than done because it is hard to take pictures when you cant see through the view finder or see what you trying to focus on. All of us had digital SLR cameras, and our auto focus wasn't working because it was pitch dark. We had to rely on our manual focus and let just say you have to see what you're trying to focus on. Most of the animals were asleep, others just hanging out, while others we rudely awakened (which I felt a little guilty about) Im sure we traumatized the seals. One of Sonny's girlfriends was trying to nudge him awake so he could see there was something odd going on (which was us) but he was sleeping like a log.

We tried using our flashes but the pictures kept coming out washed out and awful. We managed to take a few photos of some of the animals but after a while we just switched to doing scenic long exposures, since they don't require a flash and they make for interesting and sometimes eerie effects. All in all we didn't see very many animals awake but we had fun. At least some of us did. I sure did, hope I can do it again sometime. At least the "hook up" (that will remain unnamed) said we were welcome back anytime when the construction is finished and they open up the brand new areas. I did come back with what seemed like contractions that still keep coming and going which Im guessing was due to all the walking. Aside from that it was a nice night. I hadn't had a real chance to play with the new camera and I learned a lot about it this night. Thanks to those that made it possible. Here's some of the better pictures.