More Animals to Photograph

Olive, my daughter, has become increasingly interested in animals and bugs, and somewhere along the way, it has fueled a subtle desire in me to photograph them.

I'm not going to lie and say she's the sole reason. But her slight obsession is definitely driving mine.

Hornbill

I think some of it comes from wanting something to photograph that isn't always people—or something so personal.

I love documenting my family. But I understand, probably more than they do, the dangers that live on the internet. I wrestle with how much of our lives I should share online and how much should just belong to us.

With animals, I don't have that problem.

Some of this probably started at the Butterfly Pavilion. I came away with a few images that surprised me. Then there are the photographs I've been making during our trips to the Denver Zoo. Without really intending to, I've started building a small collection.

They're by no means National Geographic photographs. But I'm capturing animals in a way I don't think I've been able to before.

Shooting at longer focal lengths has its own challenges. I know how to overcome most of them technically. It's harder in practice when I'm carrying a 20-pound toddler while also trying to maneuver an eight-pound camera and lens. Sometimes I walk away without the photograph I wanted.

Today, though, the photographs almost felt secondary.

Olive was genuinely interested in seeing the animals.

She wanted to know what each one was called. She tried to spot them in their habitats. She was patient when she couldn't find them and excited when she finally did.

Watching her become interested in something, not because we told her to be interested in it, but because she was curious, was special.

As Olive gets older and develops interests of her own, I hope I can give her the little nudges she needs to figure out what she genuinely wants to pursue.

Right now, it's animals.

We try to limit her screen time, so if animals are what she's interested in, I want to show her real animals as often as I can. I want to give her books and magazines. I want to give her the resources to follow that curiosity as deeply as she wants to take it.

I know she's not even two yet.

Next year, she may be obsessed with something completely different.

But right now, this is ours.

She wants to find the animals.

I want to photograph them.

And there will always be more animals to find, more photographs to make, and more places for us to explore together.

For however long she's interested, I just want to experience as much of it as I can with my girl.