Lincoln Park Zoo

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a free zoo in the middle of Chicago near the lake. It’s one of those really old (1868) zoos that is mildly depressing to walk around. The cages are tiny in most cases and the animals just look… depressed. I personally have a love/hate relationship with the entire idea of zoos. On one side animals really should have more room. On the other side it’s good for kids to learn about animals and their habitats. Not to mention how much zoologists can learn from them and of course I can take pictures of monkeys without leaving the city.
Anyways… a bit over a week ago the Chicagoland Digital Photography Meetup Group descended on the zoo for an afternoon of fun. We started out with lunch – the place only had hot dogs which made me feel ill for days – and then we went on our way. This time around I barely talked with anyone.
Due to the weather being still a bit on the cold side, most of the animals were inside and behind glass. Add in all the people and it was a bit difficult to photograph.
With out a doubt, the Meerkats were the most fun to photograph. The little hams actually seemed like they were posing for all the cameras. I talked with one guy later who said that one sat there long enough to get his exposure settings right.








