Columbus August 21

I went to the Columbus Zoo August 21 with a pal and got these shots.

Randhir, a male sloth bear

The picture is not noteworthy, but the activity was interesting. Frankie, the youngster on the left, and one of his aunties had a brief shoving match. They stood this way for several seconds, the auntie gave a small push, and Frankie retreated.

Javan pond heron

northern bald ibis

African grey parrot

One of the western lowland gorilla moms with a kid on her back.

Humboldt penguin

Columbus July 31

I was heading toward boredom with the Columbus Zoo, but I think that's because I've been going around noon. On my most recent trip I arrived at 8:00 and was rewarded.

This is Brian, a greater one-horned rhinoceros

This is a sloth bear, which someone on Instagram called a "lips bear." I had not heard that name, but the bear is also known as a "labiated bear" because of its long bottom lip.

Two sloth bears were outside, one male and one female. They apparently don't get along and there was some grunting at one another. I don't know which is which in these photos.

A Pallis' cat, of which I'd finally gotten a decent picture in May, was running around its enclosure, going so far as to come to the glass.

The baby Asian elephant's mom, Phoebe, spent quite some time throwing dirt on herself before she began eating from the net above her.

Phoebe's boy played with his ball. He's about age seven weeks. His name, Frankie, was announced August 26.

A blue-and-yellow macaw. I think it was trying to move to the wooden structure to the left but gave up. In my limited experience, zoo parrots would much rather climb than hop or fly to go somewhere. They use their beaks to hang on, but the tree branch is fake so it probably could not get a good grip. Or the bird was just stretching its leg.

 

Reflections

There are good reflections

Columbus Zoo trumpeter swan pond. Coulda done better with the focus.

and bad reflections.

Florida manatee (Columbus Zoo, Apr. 2019). I've learned to wear a dark shirt when I expect to be taking pictures through glass. Maybe I should wear long sleeves and gloves, too.

There are reflections of lights.

Asian elephant (Columbus Zoo, Aug. 2018). This could have been a nice shot. 

I bought a circular polarizing filter, which purports to eliminate reflections, for my lenses, but it has limits. For one thing, it significantly reduces the amount of light that enters. When ambient light is low, such as when I'm in the elephant barn, I can hardly see anything through the viewfinder.

There are horrible reflections.

western lowland gorilla (Columbus Zoo, June 2018)

A viewing area that's darker then the exhibit limits reflections, but sometimes there are lighted signs behind the photographer.

sohal surgeonfish (Columbus Zoo, Jan. 2019)

A photo for artistic effect? No, I took the picture for the heck of it. It looks like a double exposure, but it's not. The sloth bear is inside the glass and the rock superimposed on the bear is a reflection of what's outside the glass.

sloth bear (Columbus Zoo, Aug. 2018)

I don't take the picture when I'm aware of a bad reflection, and I like to think I've become more aware over time. Still, I'm not always aware, as the manatee photo shows.

Here are a couple more good reflections.

unknown turtle (Columbus Zoo)

spur-winged lapwing (Toledo Zoo)