Northwest Trek

Despite a rather heavy cover of clouds and cool weather, Gavin and I headed out to Northwest Trek today. It wasn’t an ideal day for photographs, but I couldn’t resist taking my camera.

I think I’ve mentioned that I’m not terribly fond of zoos where animals are caged, but part of the appeal of NW Trek is that the animals run free and a tram carries passengers through the site. That means that you shoot what you can, as you can. I like that feeling, and I particularly like the idea that the animals, though penned, aren’t caged.

Of course, with limited range and unlimited exposure to people, the animals soon become far too tame for my taste. I avoided some of the more obvious shots and attempted to create a realistic feel, as in this shot of a swan:

I also love this shot of a fawn hiding in the grass because it’s the kind of shots I might actually capture in the wild:

My favorite shot of the day is this one of one of the caged coyotes, though the cage he’s in is much larger and has a more natural setting than the ones you’ll see in most zoos:

I did get some knock-down-dead shots of the animals, but somehow I don’t like them as well as these as they seem strangely artificial, though I’d probably be bragging about them to everyone I knew if I’d actually captured them in the wild. Either that, or someone would find the digital negatives on my dead body after I’d gotten too close to the wolves or to the black bear.

It turned out to be a rather expensive trip as I ended up buying a year-long membership for a hundred and five dollars, lunch for two, and a stuffed owl for Lael because I felt guilty about leaving her at the baby-sitter’s today. Expect to see more shots from here in the future.

3 thoughts on “Northwest Trek”

  1. My bad eyes at first read “Northwest Tick”. Boy, was I glad you hadn’t gone that far afield. I take it that the membership will be good for you and me, too, so don’t despair the cost!

  2. There is this painting of dark night in a dry autumn forest in the art gallery. it is quite big and the way you are supposed to see (to really enjoy it) is –
    you make telescopes with your palm and look at the painting through it. then you walk towards the painting.

    if you have a vivid imagination you feel like walking through the forest and it gives you a heart attack when you suddenly hit the painting.

    your post reminded me of that.

  3. Hope you got some good pictures of that piliated woodpecker out in PT. Defiance Park. I heard it again yesterday, but didn’t see it. Also, how is Scotland like Alaska? I was trying to explain it to my wife, but it couldn’t put my finger on it.
    Enjoy the woods. Dave

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