Photographer Feature: Susan Gayley

  I am a psychology major with a minor in marine science.  I recently did a independent study on psychology as portrayed in photographs, it was specifically on dogs and human relationships.  I am an animal trainer, currently working with dogs, and one day hope to be training marine mammals, like dolphins and whales.  I love taking photographs of animals and capturing those special moments between humans and animals or animals doing cool things and even just being themselves interacting in nature.

 This photo was taken in Sea World Orlando at the Dolphin and Whale show.  

This was the end of the show and each dolphin was doing different trick.

  This photo was taken in Sea World Orlando at the Shamu show.

 This photo was taken in Sea World Orlando at the Shamu Show.  The large killer whale on the left is the mama and the smaller whale on the right is the baby.  This baby was 2 months old and the 16th born in Sea World Orlando.  The spots on the baby killer whales are brown and change to the white when they are 3 months old.

This photo is of my Bichon, Gigi.  

She was very much enjoying the last bits of yogurt from my mom.  

This was taken at a dog show in Flemington, NJ.

  This photo was taken in my parents backyard in Lanoka Harbor, NJ.  

This Rhodesian Ridgeback pup is three months old and enjoying a fun game of Frisbee in the summer.

 This photograph was taken in the Florida Keys.

Orlando, Florida, USA

Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, USA

Flemington, New Jersey, USA

Dippin Dots

Ice cream seems to have died in New York City.  Has anyone else noticed that?  You can buy froyo at hundreds of little stores (Sixteen Handles decidedly being the best), and soft serve ice cream on every street corner from Mister Softee.  Or Captain Softee.  Or Whatever.  Gelato is becoming more popular- it's places other than Little Italy, though Little Italy is the most fun place to get it!  

But hard ice cream? pssht. So last season.

NOOOO.  I disagree.  I love ice cream in a cone, or a dish.  And Dippin Dots?  Genius.  Ice cream of the future kids, it's here.  I've never understood why this stuff hasn't caught on more.  It's so great.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Hippity Hoppity

The exhibit of tree frogs in the aquarium at Sea World was a stunner.  At first, I barely noticed the cleverly camoflauged amphibians.  These frisky, frolicking frogs blended into their surroundings so well, that the first time one moved, I jumped a little bit.  Not to mention that their perfectly poised, paused positions made them appear plastic.  They didn't seem like they could possibly be real.  From my perspective, this was kind of nice.  Their lack of movement made them significantly easier to photograph- I didn't have to worry about anticipating their movements.  So that was pleasant.  

However, I did happen to get the frog in the foreground in mid-jump.  Which I find fun.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Coy

Another adorable sea lion.  So cute.  This one looks coy- like it's flirting with the camera.  Eyes looking down, head leaning to the side... who wants to take me out for some fresh fish?


San Antonio, Texas, USA

Puffin Power

Power to the Puffins!!!!

Who knew that they were so cute?

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Otter Frolic

Remember how I said that I was utterly fascinted by the sea lions at Sea World?  And how I thought that I would be fascinated  by the otters, not the sea lions?  Well, let me clarify that this does not mean that I wasn't fascinated by the otters.  They were delightfully charming!  So little, cute and furry.  We were watching one play in the pool of water, and I took this photograph without realizing that the other one was even there- it was just a quick shot with the camera reflecting so much sunlight that I couldn't see the screen, and was too lazy to actually use the viewfinder.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to stare at them, and watch them frolic too long, because their habitat was being cleaned, and they were moved.  But, they were fun while it lasted!

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Curious and Clever

I've never really thought that much about sea lions.  Most people probably haven't- I just realized how ridiculous that first statement sounds.  Sea lions are one of those animals that I feel most people are basically familiar with.  They know what they look like (not a lion) and that, well, they kive in the sea.  Cool.  Sea lions.  I have seen them before, at zoos and stuff, but I was never particularly fascinated by them.  They were playful, but not as little and cuddly as the otters, or as vocal as the dolphins, so they slid into the back of my mind as just another animal.  

But... at Sea World... I was just fascinated.  Danny actually had to pull me away at one point, because if I stayed and just watched them, jaw-on-floor, any longer, we wouldn't get to see everything we wanted to see before the park closed.  These sea lions were so.  cute.  Some were massive, like a giant male with a brand in his back, probably from another zoo, seeing as he was the only one.  Then there were babies too!  I was just impressed in every possible way.  They were friendly as well!  They came right up to the edge of the pool as we walked up, and were making eyes at us.  

This one, in particular seemed to like me, he followed me as I walked around the tank, looking up at me with his big brown eyes.  He had that appearance of being very wise, knowing, intelligent.  Yet though he had intelligence, still optimistic, and wanting to be my friend.  I'm in love (sorry Danny).

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Flamingo Al Fresco

No, Flamingo al Fresco isn't some kind of dish.  The flamingos at Sea World were outside- they weren't even in a cage!  There was a shallow pool filled with flamingos, ibises, and many kinds of ducks.  It was really ovely.  The pink of the flamingos, the red of the ibises, the orange of the water, the green of the plants, and the reddish brown of the surrounding buildings all blended together to create a rather striking visual.  Most of the flamingos were gathered together at one end of their habitat, but this one was all off by itself.  This was just a little after noon, and the sun was extremely high in the sky, making it pretty hot.  But, that sun shone down almost directly on the top of this flamingo, making it basically glow.  

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Splash

This logflume, which is called The Atlantis, or something like that, was so pretty.  It was kind of Arabian themed with an Aquatic Twist, like Princess Jasmine as a mermaid.  Or at least, I could have definitely seen her hanging out in that kind of architecture.  The ride actually seemed kind of lame, it was one not particularly large drop.  We didn't ride it.  But, the overall look?  Rad.  

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Scraggles

Some scraggly trees at Sea World.  Desert plants of some kind- Danny is from Austin and didn't even know what these were!  They looked pretty spiffy, but they were so windy and curvy.  Together they look like some kind of twisted Tim Burton fairy land.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

The Crowd

 

When we first arrived at Sea World, we were shocked by how few people were in the park.  Granted, it was a thursday, not a weekend, and many of the schools in the area had just started, but it was a lovely day outside, and well, we just expected it to be really crowded.  Oh, and we had initially planned to show up around ten when it opened, but didn't end up making it there til more like eleven thirty, because I was a little bit slow getting ready and then, we missed our exit.  Anywho, it looked like there was pretty much no one there.  One of the first things we did was go and get some lunch in one of the restaurants.  As we were digging into our massive and totally delicious taco salad bowl (one of those ones with the shell and everything) a huge group of people started coming our way.  What I mean by huge, is the size of the town where I grew up.  Turns out that everyone had been in the Shamu show since we had arrived at  the park.  Here they are!

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Pastel Playground

As I said in the last post, I went to Sea World on my birthday with Danny.  Everything was so happy, the people, the decorations, the playful sea lions (more to come on that).  The main atraction was obviously the aquatic life, but the overall decoration of the place was rather lovely.  Since it's in San Antonio, a lot of the plants are more desert standards.  Being from the Northeastern United States, that looks pretty foreign.  Add onto that Florida pastel buildings and statues... and the whole place looks  kitchy and fun.  This playground is a pretty decent indication of the feel of the place.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

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