Ohio

Dayton is lucky enough to play host to America's Packard Museum. I had been to the venue once before as part of a corporate event and always wanted to return during the day, when I could put my camera to good use.

The museum is located in an old Packard dealership and by matching the period cars with the proper building, the museum has hit a home run. When you walk in, you are immediately immersed in the experience. Walking from the show room to the old maintenance area, you get the feel of both the front end and the back end of the dealership.

The cars range from the turn of the twentieth century to the mid fifties, when the Packard went out of production. During this era, cars were bathed in design details that you can't see on modern automobiles.

This was my first time shooting cars and I struggled to find a good way to shoot the wonderful lines I found, given the poor lighting in the museum. Still, I had a fantastic time trying.

With a spare afternoon to spend in Dayton, most people automatically think about visiting the incredible U.S. Air Force Museum. I don't blame them, the AF museum is incredible. However, If you prefer cars over planes and missiles or if you have already seen the jets, the Packard museum provides an outstanding alternative.

From early race cars and dump trucks to vehicles owned by MacArthur and Al Capone, the museum's collection is really impressive. Go and see it, you really won't be disappointed.

A quick note: While going back and researching facts for this post, I noticed that I was only charged $5 to enter the museum, the senior rate. This was the day before my fiftieth birthday. Do I really look like a senior already? Don't you have to be retired to be considered a senior?Maybe I should just relax and enjoy the discount.

Earlier this week, I posted about the wonderful birds that I found at the Columbus Zoo. Located in, of all places, Columbus, Ohio the zoo is a popular destination for folks living in the area. Today, I wanted to finish up our trip to the zoo by showing some of the animals and also by giving you my overall impressions. To start off, here are some of the animals that I saw:

My wife doesn't like zoos at all. She thinks that the animals must be sad to be locked up in cages and enclosures. After visiting some questionable zoos like the Cincinnati zoo or the Atlanta zoo of the seventies, I can understand where her feelings come from. I like zoos. I enjoy the opportunity to see exotic animals from foreign lands. I don't want to see any animals living in poor conditions. However, I think that zoos have a role to play when it comes to education and conservation and as long as the animals are well cared for physically and mentally, Bring em on. I want to see some animals!

The Columbus zoo is a world class zoo. The animals are sheltered in habitats that closely match their natural environments. From Brown bears to apes, I saw animals with plenty of room, ways to entertain themselves, and safe. The zoo has done a remarkable job of balancing the publics desire to see the animals with the animals need for a healthy home.

That last two images might be part of the zoo's success. The animals are placed in environments that are engaging. Activities are built into the animals daily lives. The zoo is used to train researchers. I saw the student's throughout the site, making notes and recording video. I think we can thank Jack Hanna for the way the zoo sees its mission. His vision of a modern zoos role in education and conservation has produced seed changes in the way modern zoos are run.

Thanks Jack. You've done well.

thursday packards

you can take a cross town bus… zoo part two