I originally took and posted this photo in 2009 before I started geotagging my photos, so I’m not completely certain where we were when I captured this. However, I know we were somewhere on Iceland’s extraordinary Snaefellsnes Peninsula on the west coast. Iceland is such an incredible place to visit, and at this time of year we were able to experience these incredibly long and spectacular golden hour sunsets that lit up the world and made everything look fantastic.

During the same “zoo day” where I took the photo of the painted lorikeet, I also had an opportunity to try a magnificent Nikon 600 f/4 lens at the primate exhibit. The good people at Mike’s Camera had stationed several high-end telephoto lenses around the park for different camera mounts, and photographers could simply attach their camera bodies to the lens of their choice and start shooting. After waiting a short time in line, I was able to get some time with this extraordinary lens (which Mike’s Camera has available for purchase for a cool $10k).

Mike’s Camera in Denver has a yearly “zoo day” where they allow zoo visitors to check out camera equipment for free and try things around the zoo. On this particular zoo day, I grabbed a Nikon 28-300 lens and used it around different parts of the animal exhibits. The lens didn’t wow me too much, but I was able to snag this photo of a painted lorikeet in the bird exhibit.