This project began life as just a series of trips going to zoos and taking pictures. A friend asked what I planned to do with all the pictures. I said I don’t know maybe write a book. And so Zoos - A Photo Book and Guide was born. My first step was to identify the zoos I want to visit. I divided the country up into six different regions and started visiting zoos in the first region the Midwest, which is Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, an North Dakota.
I finished visiting all 28 zoos I had on my list in August 2019. The book has been written and I am in the final stages of editing and getting the interior design done. I expect to publish the end of March 2020. In addition to working on the first book, I am also taking pictures for the second book in the series, Zoos of the Great Lakes, which will be Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
One thing with a project of this nature, is I have ended up with far more pictures than I can include in the books. Each article in the "Zoos: A Guide" section has links to its galleries, which represent a trip to that zoo. There is also a section called "Animals: A Photo Book" which is a gallery for a particular animal that spans all the zoos. And please pardon the dust, as this site is under near constant construction and improvement.
An otter from Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, IA saying "Hello!"