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I like photographing giraffes a lot. Maybe because I don't have the chance to do it all that often; my home zoo has some giraffes, but they don't have an indoor facility for them to live in. Being somewhere the temperature goes below freezing for several months out of the year, that's not great. So the giraffes live at a different zoo and we only see them every third summer. 

![Giraffe Back.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXS4y5Vcap2kSqH1NCWx1sW4S9fbrv2HyFdTMDcZcvoo6/Giraffe%20Back.jpg)

Nobody quite knows how many species, or subspecies, of giraffes there are. There's a pretty substantial argument about that going on between geneticists at the moment. They're generally divided based on their ranges and the patterns in their coloration; the ones at my home zoo are reticulated giraffes.

<div class="pull-right">https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaJXejP2a2XSWAJxB9G3AHdQx1FE7ufuyVhZAi8ZdPyYE/Giraffe%20Haunch.jpg<br></div>

<div class="pull-left">As I've mentioned before, I really like taking detail pictures of animals rather than just portraits and full body shots. Not that I'm averse to those, but I think focusing on the detailed parts gives you an opportunity to look closely at something you usually wouldn't. 
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPhm4Js5xXfAMNtN2dA9zTFWeuWoXcbqjcEURYJ3Y6RgS/Giraffe%20Neck.jpg
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![Two Giraffes.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmamPE6bKU6HuqcXrdYVtGJFVUtRimZbsk57Zx23CkfYbs/Two%20Giraffes.jpg)

<div class="pull-right">https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbfre1dHCTPkHKrxpTN6wArXZkVVqG5CFqud7NqCbm35s/Giraffe%20Down.jpg</div>
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Which is not to discount the value of a good shot of two giraffes interacting, or of a particular behavior.
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Or perhaps a somewhat-disconcerting closeup portrait.
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZkNMD7kNhLjDPDz6rRXaqUFodrXBPAkrrqpN5WVRebuX/Giraffe%20Closeup.jpg
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmejtT1NebQXs7cF8JdCuEvURSwtobJnWHVqeqiNhAAwWG/Long%20Black%20Tongue.jpg
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<div class="pull-left">Besides their long necks and their coloration patterns, giraffes' best-known features are their long black tongues and their ossicones, horn-like knobs of cartilage on the tops of their heads. 
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmW6WCuPRDFHfX64qWAKU6BM3NVkZWskgX5xJQmrTyqUyx/Elderly%20Giraffe%20Tail.jpg
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Over the last couple of years I've gotten the chance to travel to other zoos and photograph Masai giraffes, which have darker, more complex spot patterns.

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<div class="pull-right">https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXMrbqYkYjdtKwC6w3kVDp3riMLUBiGowmN8Fhehi5YiH/Ossicones.jpg<br><br>https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmNmzT53Lrfi5jrsqtyc8B4XoDC488aDs5CojGfnrnTtfd/Giraffe%20Wind%20Chimes.jpg
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![Masai Giraffe Nose.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPsUWAn2W2rE5fAuLBrBz8Qrhu3M5mYb2Ahnxx3TiTwws/Masai%20Giraffe%20Nose.jpg)