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PHOTOGRAPHER: TANANARIVE AUBERT |
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I was born
and raised just outside of Sacramento, California. My interest in animals started
with our numerous family pets, which have included rabbits, cats, mice and birds.
This broadened to an interest in all wildlife, especially lions, leopards, parrots,
zebras and giraffes. I also love the arts, especially painting and photography.
I have served as a volunteer counselor at the Sacramento Zoo's summer camp for
children and held a volunteer position as a keeper's |
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aide,
which was a great place to learn about the different animals. As a result, the
zoo has become a favorite place to take pictures of animals.
I have spent a lot of time working with big cats as a keeper’s aid at the
Sacramento Zoo since 1996. As a result I have developed strong bonds with most
of the cats at the zoo. I have also spent time photographing the animals at the
Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary, which in 2003 acquired two special tigers from a “rescue
facility.” At the facility, Pouncer was found tethered on a 4-foot chain,
and Misty was being kept in a 3-by-3-foot cage. Both animals were starving and
covered with mange in that facility, but now they are healthy and happy tigers.
Misty and I have a special connection she chuffs at me as soon as she sees me.
She will actually wake up to talk to me and follows me around (from inside her
cage while I am outside). Some people think she loves having her picture taken
but I don’t need to have my camera with me to get a good reaction out of
her.
Photography turned into a part-time business for me when I began selling photos
to the zoo for various programs and printed materials. A trip to Florida's Bush
Gardens sponsored by Nature's Best photography magazine was a pivotal point in
my life. I then had an opportunity to attend the North American Nature Photographers
Association's (NANPA) annual convention. Through these fine opportunities, I have
met photographers who are making a difference due to the passion they have for
photography and protecting the environment.
Through attending NANPA conferences I learned about the chance of an internship
at Art Wolfe Inc. doing office work. In the spring of 2003 I spent three months
working in Art Wolfe's office with his staff learning the business side of photography.
I continue to photograph animals, but also have broadened my interests to include
plants, flowers and landscapes. In June of 2005 I fulfilled a life long dream
of going to Madagascar to visit family and photograph lemurs and other animals
in the wild. I will always love photographing the animals in the zoo as well.
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| FEATURED
PHOTOS BY TANANARIVE AUBERT |
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Check
out more of Tana's photos in the big cat photo galleries.
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