DPA Went Wild at The World Famous Bronx Zoo - John Bentham Advanced Location Workshop

Photographer John Bentham led a DPA Advanced Photography Workshop to the World Famous Bronx Zoo. The class met Sunday morning in a Manhattan studio where John presented animal, travel and documentary images in a dynamic slide show set to music. Enlarged with a Panasonic projector, students were able to see the details and workings of a photograph up close, which always sparks questions and conversation. This was followed by a presentation and discussion of photographs tailored specifically to the zoo location. We covered how to make stronger images, and how better to achieve success in photographs, what should be cropped out, or left in a photo. We dealt with shooting with long lenses, in addition to shooting with the very fast lenses needed to photograph in some of the indoor displays. Then followed a refresher course on controlling difficult exposures and basic photo techniques.

Then we trekked out to the Bronx Zoo where John was available all day offering technical and aesthetic advice to the DPA students. The focus of the workshop was photographing the animals, both in their habitats and producing photos isolating the animals from their compounds. It is a little known fact that most wildlife photography is actually shot at nature and wildlife preserves. In addition to the regular activities, on Sept 12 The Bronx Zoo was presenting, Nature’s Air Show, featuring live flying demonstrations by birds of prey, including Falcons, Hawks and a Golden Eagle. The raptors of the wild soared and dived overhead for us, then we photographed them up close after the show.

John’s father worked for Kodak and there were always a camera around when John was growing up. On his fourteenth birthday his father bought him his first SRL. Now John is an award-winning photographer specializing in travel, location, documentary and portraiture. John’s clients and publications include AUDI, Ericsson, Mercedes-Benz, Newsweek, The New York Times, People Magazine, Pfizer, Rolling Stone, Sony, Time, United Technologies and Vanity Fair. Along the way John has also photographed a few animals, ridden a camel in Morocco, an elephant in Thailand, has been pissed on by a Tiger in Florida, and came close to being thrown by a horse in New Jersey. Photography can be a wild ride. Check the New York DPA schedule for John’s upcoming location and studio workshops.