I had the pleasure of photographing Murphy, an 11 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  Murphy is enjoying his retirement years by spending his days eating, and when not eating he is sleeping.  Except during the photo shoot; this day was filled with new sniffs and lots of treats.  We took it easy though.  His heart is giving him some trouble.  Heart problems in Cavaliers are a common genetic problem.

We had a great time.  The first photo session was at the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline, then the next weekend we headed to The University of Washington Arboretum.  The fall color is a little behind this year compared to previous years, but we were able to find some color.

From what I understand Murphy was pretty conked out after our photo sessions.  i hope you had fun Murphy, I had a blast.

The Woodland Park Zoo is a great zoo.  I took some time on a Saturday to visit the zoo with my camera in hand.  If getting good photos of the zoo animals is your main goal DON”T go on a Saturday.  I guess I should have thought of that before I chose to go on a Saturday, but I was going with a group and some friends.  I would definitely like to go again, but this time on a weekday.  It’s so difficult to get good shots when there are people everywhere.

Another obstacle is the glass separating people from the animals.  I mean, I know the glass is there to keep people from being mauled, but geeze its difficult to get good shots with dirty glass in front of your lens.

Anyway, I braved the crowd and the dirty glass to get a few decent images that I wanted to share with you.

My favorite animals at the zoo are the wolves (dah, of course) and the gorillas.  Also, love the birds of prey.