Learn to See

I’ve been processing a lot of primate shots lately and the comments I’ve gotten often make me think about how the image is being received by viewers, why I took it, and whether the intention of the photographer behind the lens really does effect the photos we get.

Bear with me for a minute while I have to admit to a pet hate that most people are guilty of anyway - assuming that any large primate (particular Gorillas) is MALE. I realise how understandable it is, but when I am at the zoo and shooting a gorgeous Western Lowland Gorilla called Julia and I have 50 kids behind me saying how big HE is - I get ureasonably cranky and never know why. It is the same thing when people call my dog an IT or mixup his gender - they’re not seeing him as HIM.

At the same time, I’ve seen recent discussions online about the intentional differences between zoo and wild shots for photographers- that wild shots show an animal in its natural habitat and can show nature and zoo shots can be used to show sadness or the drawbacks of captivity.

Considering these two things together as well as the comments I’ve received, I realised that I do look at animals differently than some people and some photographers. I have no real interest in capturing themes of loneliness at the zoo or freedom in the wild - I only want want to show the individual animal. I have always looked at every animal as an individual I want to connect with, whether it be a lost dog up the road or a sheep at an Agricultural show. I see individual first, species second. So when people only ever see a generic Gorilla, Lion, Orangutan, Tiger….I want to show that while as archetypes of their species they are beautiful, they are also completely unique.

It’s also important to remember that a photograph is an amazingly small capture of time - it will never reveal the whole truth. This shot I have taken below has been very popular and I’ve had many comments about how sad she looks, yet later that day I saw her happily jump off a huge beam in her enclosure and clap her hands with delight at her own abilities! Just because she’s in a zoo doesn’t mean she’s always sad and lonely and thoughtful and that this is all she is. She is often cheeky, happy and playful.

It does sadden me when people cannot recognise the difference in faces between animals. We are conditioned so much to see “Lion” “Dog” “Snow Leopard”, whereas we need to be conditioned to see that they are not just representatives of their species, they are individuals. It amazes me that even frequent visitors to my zoo never learn to recognise a species, let alone one Gorilla from the next. The differences in their faces is as clear to me as night and day - I just imagined that everyone can see it.

The zoo gives us one advantage that the wild doesn’t - you can go back and visit the same animal. Next time you go, especially if you’re a photographer who was only going to test out their new sharp lens, learn to see the animal differently. You’re not just capturing a theme, you’re capturing someone.