Feeding the giraffes with Anya at the Denver Zoo

Anya is the 4 year-old darling daughter of my good friend Will (we both went to the mighty school of Colorado College). They've had a very challenging year with Anya being diagnosed with retinoblastoma. After six months of chemotherapy, Anya has proven to be one of the strongest kids I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Seriously an inspiration.

Her favorite animal is the giraffe, so her parents got connected with Kyle and Amanda at the Denver Zoo, who generously offered the family a behind-the-scenes tour of the Giraffe House and to feed these awesome animals. And I tagged along! Mucho thanks to Kyle and Amanda for allowing Anya's family and me access to a rare opportunity.





Giraffes are the best! Here's Kipele, the supermodel giraffe who liked having her picture taken::

It was kind of a privilege to go up to the feeding platform (which isn't accessible to the public), but Kyle and Amanda were nice enough to let us feed these amazing creatures some carrots and pumpkin slices. Kipele working the camera again::


And Anya was the happiest girl in the world! A great day at the Zoo.


Afterwards the family found themselves at a baseball field in City Park, and we played pretend baseball::


Homage à Max Wanger::

The family::


I've had the honor of getting to know Anya for the past three years and you can't say enough about this amazing kid. Nor can I take enough pictures. She's going places in this world and I look forward to keeping the pictures coming.