Architectural Photography at the Denver Zoo

Posted on on October 15, 2025

David Besnette I was commissioned by BRS Architecture to photograph a number of their exhibits and structures that they have completed recently. They worked in conjunction with Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, Satchell Engineering and Vertix Builders.

This project took several months of planning and photographing to complete. Photographing in a zoo environment creates some challenges, as well as opportunities.

We delivered over 150 photos on this project!

The Zoo Photography Project and Challenges

When I was first approached about photographing the architectural structures at the Denver Zoo, I was excited and a little apprehensive at the same time. Obviously the zoo is not going to close for me to come photograph, and getting access to the zoo before or after hours is not easy for the obvious reason of keeping the animals, and me safe – and to avoid any sort of liability.

Most notably, this is a rogue, unpredictable environment for photography. No models, no staging, and no control over lighting or people. However, this created some amazing situations for me to capture as you will see below.

The First and Most Important Step

From the beginning, I insisted on doing a pre-visit, or scouting trip with the architects and builders. I felt that it was imperative to see the structures and understand where the light would be at different times of day. It’s also important for me to learn what needs to be photographed.

Flamingos — I needed to make sure the flamingos were not in the shade. These beautiful birds, and the structure needed direct sunlight.

Handheld photo of mechanical room — This is actually a photo from the scouting visit. It was handheld, but it was good enough to deliver in the final photography package. This is the water filtration room below the Sea Lions exhibit.

Capturing the Structures and Architectural Features With, and Without People

My directive from BRS (the architects) was to capture the structures with and without people in them if I could. They emphasized that it was important to capture the structures being viewed and enjoyed by the zoo patrons.

I was able to get in a few hours before opening to get some “clean, unobstructed shots.”

Gorillas feature at the Denver Zoo — An unobstructed shot of the Gorillas exhibit. I used a 17mm Tilt / Shift lens with a CPL filter.

Capturing the features with people in them required a strategy. What I did, and used were:

A monopod for several shots and a remote shutter release to get above the crowd.
I took my son with me on one visit and “acted” like I was photographing him but also getting the crowd in the shot too. Why? People can get a little weird about photographers photographing people they don’t know. This is a fact of life and having my own son there helped put people at ease.
Timing my visits when there were feedings and shows.

The Penguins feature — I caught the feeding at the Penguins exhibit, capturing the patrons enjoying the show.

Gorillas Structure — The zookeeper interacting with the Gorilla. The cage was a feature that I needed to capture in action.

Gorillas cage — A detail shot showing the robust cage to keep the zookeepers safe.

Closeup of the feature — A closeup of the animal while also showing the architectural design details, and the viewing area and patrons. A 50mm lens was used for this photograph.

monopod above Penguins — I used a monopod and a remote shutter release (Camranger) to get a shot above the crowd toward the Penguin exhibit

Some of the challenges I faced, and the solutions were:

Glare on the glass was pronounced, so I used a CPL filter which minimized it
Dealing with direct sun at times was a challenge, so I made several trips to the zoo at different times of day to capture the features in different light and planned the day so I was not shooting directly into the sun wherever possible
Getting clear shots of the architectural features without too many people blocking the shot was challenging at times. I went into this project knowing that I would need a fair amount of patience, which turned out to be one of my best tools and strategies for this project.
I couldn’t use flash, or lights anywhere. I would have liked to use them in a few places in the mechanical rooms, but that was prohibited. No solution other than bracketing and careful blending / luminosity masking in post production.

Sea Lions — Sometimes, shooting directly into the sun can provide a creative opportunity.

clear glass at this structure — I used a CPL filter to minimize glare on the glass to get a very clear view

Lenses and Equipment I used for the Zoo Photography Project

One lens would not have sufficed for this project. I had to carry a large camera-bag around all day in the hot sun, which was cumbersome. However, it was necessary to achieve some of the photos that were necessary.

17mm Tilt-Shift to minimize distortion on the wider shots
70-200 mm 2.8 to capture more detailed photos of the animals and architectural features
50 mm 1.4 for detail shots where the 70mm was too much
16-35 mm for many of the standard shots. I leaned on this lens where I needed to switch focal lengths quickly with changing crowd conditions and animal behaviors
Monopod for getting above the crowd
CPL filter to remove glare on the water and glass
Canon 5DSR for the highest resolution possible
CamRanger to be able to release the shutter remotely

70-200mm Lens — I used a 70-200 mm lens to get a more compressed photo of the animal and the architectural details in the background

Mechanical room — I used a 50mm lens to capture some of the features in the water filtration area for the Sea Lions exhibit

I was tasked with capturing the Bumble Flooring in the Penguins area, however I could not go into the habitat. I relied on a 200mm focal length to get the photo of the flooring from afar.

Mechanical Room with a Tilt-Shift Lens — A 17mm Tilt-Shift lens was used here to minimize distortion in the mechanical room below the Sea Lions exhibit

Filtration system — I used a little bokeh (blurred background) to isolate this mechanical feature. I used a 50mm lens in this photo.

Crowd at Gorillas — I used a 16-35 mm lens to capture the crowds at the Gorilla exhibit

Koala exhibit — Capturing the animals living in and interacting with the exhibits was important. I used a 70-200 for this photo.

Patrons — There were plenty of opportunities to capture patrons enjoying the features

Sea Lions with trainer — This was a strategic photo to capture the trainer interacting with the animals, with onlookers. I also wanted to capture the decorative facade in the back with the vivid colors.

Down Under exhibit — The sun was very harsh at times. A bulbous lens like the 17mm would not have worked here. I instead used a 16-35 to minimize artifacts from lens flare

Unobstructed view of this architectural feature — An unobstructed view of the Sea Lions feature. I used a CPL to make the water glare-free.

Flamingos viewing area — Going wide enough to show the Flamingos through the viewing area

Flamingos wide viewing area — From the other side showing the viewing area in use

I waited for the right moment for people to be in the best positions. I love the two people walking and looking toward Cafe Costa

zoo patrons with architecture in the background — A robust scene with colorful Cafe Costa in the background

sea lions feature — Waiting for animals to make an appearance sometimes took a lot of patience

penguins glass viewing area — Sitting on the ground to get the shot

This was one of my all-time favorite architectural photography projects in Denver that I have ever done. Photographing in a rouge, and unpredictable environment can be very difficult, but can also provide some amazing opportunities for creativity and lucky interactions with patrons and animals.

The Zoo Photography Project and Challenges

The First and Most Important Step

Capturing the Structures and Architectural Features With, and Without People

Lenses and Equipment I used for the Zoo Photography Project

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