Koi in the River

For my dad's birthday I gave him a canvas with any photo he wanted printed on it. Of all the wonderful insects, spiders, flowers, and other things he could have chosen he chose this one. This was taken in Memphis at the Botanical Gardens. However, it reminded him of one family vacation we took. We went through Omaha in the dead of winter and were the only tourists who visited the Henry Doorly Zoo. The zoo is amazing in any weather but was particularly fascinating because it was in the middle of a snow storm, my mom is pretty hardcore about staying on the AAA vacation guide plan. The zebras and giraffes were shockingly colorful next to the bright white of newly fallen snow. We walked over the Missouri river on a suspension bridge. There was a fish food dispenser and so we promptly began feeding the koi that lived in the river. As soon as the fish food hit the water the few docile fish we could see were swarmed by hundreds of koi all eager to get the tasty little fish pellets. The fish were so aggressive they were finning over each other in such a way that it made a huge swell of wriggling and writhing fish. It was like the sparkle and shine of gold, yellow, red, orange, silver, white, and black wasn't made of individuals but rather one large body splashing and swimming. It was amazing to watch and whenever I see koi in a pond I think of that cold day in Nebraska that our family shared with a few chilly zoo animals and a river full of fish.

This was taken with a Canon DSLR with a macro lens. The black fill and contrast was increased slightly in Adobe Lightroom 3.

If you are interested in this print, check out my etsy store. Pepper Tree Prints