"Determined Mama"

Those feet threaten to outshine all around them (There is a down to earth whimsy about the plant like feet of coots that has always drawn me in.). Though the determined face with that jaunty tilt quite capture my interest as well.

"Maybe"

I'm so interested in how expressive this pose is, yet how soft the angles are and how loosely held the muscles are.
This is lively repose. It makes me wonder what is being considered as a next move.

"Unflustered"

Meerkats aren't always on their haunches perkily alert ready for action. Seeing this aspect of a
meerkat's life adds something their narrative I'd say. 

"Six Ducks"

The way the light hits the water and makes my eyes almost lose focus a bit as the image
seems to oscillate and the curious almost mirrored image of the two clustered
ducks further makes my mind dream.

"Gaze"

There is such presence of mind in this duck's posture and gaze. I'm drawn to his golden eye, but not just that.
There is something there that is more subtle and expressive. 

"Leaning Giraffe"

I'm not sure what is going on with this giraffe and I think that is what makes me think about personality, expression, and character when I look at this image. I'm also fascinated by all the subtle diagonals, not only is the giraffe leaning oddly, but the strong shadows around him/her are just slightly angled creating a bit of an off kilter effect that adds to the mood of the image. This makes me want to capture so many kinds of animal likenesses.

Not a Young Coot but a Common Gallinule

Since moving to LA my photography has tapered off. It is not that there isn't anything inspiring around me, but instead that I have been making a big adjustment. There is a peace that nature brings me that I don't know how to find any other way. Sometimes it feels like all there is around me is concrete now, which, of course, is not true. I will start to post photos of my new home. But, I found a peace the other day that I had missed while visiting family for Thanksgiving weekend.

I went to the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park (the Wild Animal Park) and spent a good while observing a busy pond of birds, mostly coots inundating the flamingo pond, but there were a few of these little guys there too. At first I thought this was just a young coot getting its' bearings off in a secluded corner, but I have since discovered it is a different bird altogether, a Common Gallinule.  I'm happy to have met this little creature. There is something settled I gathered from these moments that I have brought back with me.