As a creative, I am part of a local group where we are encouraged to build community over competition within the creative field. It is a wonderful group of small business owners who work to help each other and build each other up. So, when another photographer in the group was looking to go shooting a while back, I was all game. Who am I to turn down time to go shooting with another photographer?
We decided to meet at the STL Zoo. For those non-locals, our Zoo is both amazing and FREE, so it is a hot place for families. I knew that with Emma coming along, I needed someplace we could keep her busy and still be able to chat and shoot. My girl, taking my lead, decided her camera was equally important to our trip and I will tell you that it was a high point in my time. She is adorable to watch and it keeps her busy like Momma - and maybe gives Momma some great things to shoot.
That hair is a HOT mess - and I LOVE it. While I wear clips in my hair regularly, getting it to work out right for our girl is tricky. The fact that she had it in for more than 15 minutes was amazing, so I love that it got to be a part of our day.
We walked and talked and checked out a million animals. Elephants and monkeys and zebras and animals I didn't even know the names of. Of course, I was probably more interested in my girl's reaction than anything else. She was serious about what she was seeing and since my new friend and I were shooting, she was right there with us. We even decided to have her pose for a shot or two. It was rough, since she isn't used to it, but she tried. And as a reward, she got to pose us, which seemed to be way more up her alley.
The couple of years ago, our zoo added an amazing sea lion exhibit. There is a walk through tunnel that is typically jam packed with people and a large glass window where people can interact with the sea lions. It was neat to see my girl get close to that window in hopes of attracting the sea lions and maybe snagging her own picture.
Once we had walked our fair share of the morning away, we headed back to the front and made a pit stop at the flowers on the path. What started out as a simple idea of smelling flowers when my girl was little, is often an easy stop now. And since she now understands that different flowers can smell different, we usually spend a few minutes checking that out.
And our final stop? The butterfly house. Small and humid and oh so crowded, but my girls just loves it. This time, we were fortunate to have a smaller crowd, and it seems that Emma finally understands that she can be searching for butterflies. Right away, she wanted to grab a card to help her find those little guys and I was all for it. I love seeing her search and learn and explore; must be the teacher in me.
As luck would have, after we wondered outside, the zoo has a prairie area (which was WAY overgrown) and a lovely monarch butterfly just fluttered on by. I think there is something so beautiful about observing things in their natural element. It makes days like this speak so deeply to my heart.
Until next time,
