Tag: nashville zoo

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Countdown …

Pictures: Clouded Leopard at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere and Asiatic Lion at the Zurich Zoo

The countdown is running. I have ten more days in the USA and then I will spend five days in Germany and Switzerland before I depart (one way 🙂 to South Africa.

Now I am very busy with packing and getting everything ready, so unfortunately I have very little time left for goodbye lunches and dinners.

But I thought that there is no better place to say goodbye than at the zoos in Nashville and in Zurich/Switzerland. So for anyone of you would like to see me before I leave to South Africa …

… I will be at the Nashville Zoo on Sunday, May 27 in the morning and I will have lunch in the Zoofari Cafe at 11:00am. I would be great to see some of you at the zoo. To track me down at the zoo just call 347 819 3030 once you are at the zoo.

… I will be at the Zurich Zoo on Friday, June 1 in the morning and I will have lunch at the Masola Hall Restaurant at 11:00am. It would be great to see some of you at the zoo. To track me down at the zoo just call +41 79 793 9393 once you are at the zoo.

And if I do not see you again before I leave then  I hope to see in South Africa sometime soon 🙂

Thanks and all the best – Christian

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Picture of the Week 17 – Smack!

These two Cougars cubs were smacking their lips when I took the picture(s).

This picture is a merger of two almost identical images with one of the cubs smacking the lips in the one picture and the other in the another picture.

The picture series was taken at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

More about Cougars:

The Cougar (Puma concolor), also known as puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount or panther, depending on the region, is a mammal of the family Felidae, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America.

Although large, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines and is closer genetically to the domestic cat than to true lions. While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with other predators such as the jaguar, grey wolf, American Black Bear, and the grizzly bear. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people.

For more Cougar pictures go to http://www.sperka.biz/cougar

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Photography Class on Saturday

Quite a few people have asked me if I will still teach photography classes before I leave for South Africa end of May.

Yes, I will 🙂
There are still a few places available in the class this Saturday (from 9:00a.m. to 1:00p.m.). Here is the link in case you would like to book: http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/animal-art-photography-i-adult

There is one more class scheduled before I leave:

Animal Art Photography II on 5/19/2012
http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/animal-art-photography-ii-adult

Starting in June Amiee Stubbs, the Official Nashville Zoo Photographer, will start teaching the classes and private lessons at the Nashville Zoo.

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Six feet and taller :-)

If you are six feet or taller you can take great water level shots of Alligators at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere 🙂

And don’t feel too bad if you are not that tall, you can still get some awesome shots from the upper viewing point at the exhibit.

This is one of my favorite images I took at the Nashville Zoo.

For Alligator shots from all viewpoint (including inside the exhibit :-)) go to http://www.sperka.biz/alligator

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Three days old!

This video shows two litters of Clouded Leopard cubs, which were born in February and March this year at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere.

Two of them were 3 days old and the other two were one month old at the time I recorded this video. Enjoy the cubs!

For more images of Clouded Leopards at Nashville Zoo at Gassmere go to http://www.sperka.biz/cloudedleopard

From the Nashville Zoo Press Release:

Nashville Zoo is proud to announce the births of two litters of clouded leopards. On Feb. 13, Lom Choy and her mate Luk welcomed two cubs, one male and one female. On March 11, Jing Jai and her mate Arun also welcomed a male and female pair. Both sets of parents are housed off-exhibit, and the cubs are being hand-reared together. In the coming weeks, a female clouded leopard cub born March 8 at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. will arrive to join Nashville’s four. The Zoo plans to place all five on public exhibit this summer. A specific date will be announced soon.

Introducing clouded leopards to potential mates is difficult due to the cat’s reclusive disposition. Male clouded leopards are often aggressive and have been known to attack and kill potential female partners. To reduce fatal attacks, cubs are hand-raised and introduced to mates at a young age. Since 2009, 11 cubs have been born at Nashville Zoo’s off-exhibit facility.

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Time to say goodbye …

I enjoyed my last two years working at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere very much. As I will be moving to South Africa soon, Amiee Stubbs will take over as the new official Nashville Zoo Photographer as of April 1, 2012.

With her experience working and teaching with me in the last year as assistant at the zoo, her outgoing personality, her degree in photography (she graduates early May from MTSU in Photography as Bachelor of Science) and the trust she earned from the zoo staff, Amiee is the ideal person to take over in both my roles as Official Zoo Photographer and as Photography Teacher at the zoo.

I will still teach all classes and lessons at the zoo until end of May, and Amiee will start teaching all photography programs at the zoo as of June 1, 2012.

I am also very happy to announce that Amiee will take over my gallery space at the downtown Nashville Arcade. She will reopen the Amiee Stubbs Photography Gallery at the First Saturday Gallery Crawl on June 2, 2012.

Thanks again to everyone at the Nashville Zoo. It is time to say goodbye …

… but I hope I will be back for visits!

For more information about Amiee go to http://www.amieestubbs.com

For the schedule and-or to book the Nashville zoo photography classes go to http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/photography-classes

For more information about my move to South Africa go to https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/a-dream-come-true/

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Thanks a lot & Photo Class Schedule at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Thanks a lot for the over 200 congratulation message for my upcoming move to South Africa.

Quite a few people have asked my what classes I will teach at the Nashville Zoo in the time before I leave on May 28. Here they are:

Kids Photography Class (KPC) – Wed 4-Apr –
Teen Photography Class (TPC) – Thu 5-Apr
Adult Photography Class (AAP1) – Sat 14-Apr
Advanced Adult Photography Class II (AAP2) – Sat 19-May
Adult Photography Class (AAP1) – Tue 22-May
Advanced Adult Photography Class II (AAP2) – Wed 23-May

You can book the classes directly at http://www.nashvillezoo.org/education/photography-classes

 

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They have arrived! – Dinosaurs at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Dino Trek, an impressive forest exhibit of Dinosaurs, opening on Friday, March 16, 2012 at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere.

The sounds and moves of these huge animals are most impressive. This is a short video I produced from the Dinosaurs arriving in Nashville. Enjoy the show!

If you live in the Nashville area  don’t miss this special exhibit (Open from March 16 to July 31, 2012). For more information go to http://www.nashvillezoo.org/dinotrek.

For the photographers and videographers among you: This video was filmed with a Digital SLR (Canon D1 Mark IV and a  f/2.8  24-70mm L lens) and edited on Corel VideoStudio X4 (video and sound).

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The Nashville Zoo Elephants Videos – 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty

This third video and last in the Nashville Zoo Elephants video series includes video clips about enrichment for the Elephants and the work the keepers do with them. It ends with a slide show of my best Nashville Zoo Elephant pictures.

There are three videos in this series:
– Video 1 – Introduction
– Video 2 – Care, Sounds and Details
– Video 3 – Tasks, Talks and Beauty

Enjoy the video!

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