FAQ
Have a question? Maybe we've already answered it below.
Who is "Portegiesje"?
"Portegiesje" is a dimunitive of our last name and we use online to describe the both of us together.
We choose, consciously, to not have a large personal presence online individually.
Using pseudonyms, and acting as one while in truth there are two, helps us feel comfortable and confident communicating and sharing photos online.
Why "Mouselemur"?
A love for all things - especially the animals - of Madagscar was established at a young age.
But our zoo photography journey basically started when we visited a zoo with a Gray Mouse Lemur exhibit.
We were in love and have adopted it as our online moniker.
What camera do you use?
Since there are two photographers behind the name, there's not just one camera we use.
Over the years, we have used many different cameras as we took our hobby more seriously. We evolved in our photography skills, and we upgraded our gear to match it.
Currently, we're using a:
Panasonic Lumix FZ82
Nikon Coolpix B700
Sony RX10
Sony A7 R3
We choose to use digital cameras only for easier use, less heavier weight to carry around, and the lack of noise they make.
Where do you take your photos?
We make it no secret: We are mainly zoo photographers.
We visit zoos across the country and abroad, and photograph the animals that are part of the zoo's collection.
Even if it's not easily identifiable as a zoo photo, most of the animals we photograph can't be found in the wilds of our own country or even continent.
We are expanding our skills and knowledge to nature photography as well, but our heart remains with our first love, zoo photography.
Why do you use a watermark?
We love it when you love our work, but our work doesn't come free.
While we offer you the use of our photos as reference, we also put a lot of time, effort and yes, money into our hobby.
Plenty of art circulates the internet because other people take advantage of an artist's hard work. It can be impossible to trace the original artist with an easily removable watermark, and art theft will often go unpunished.
Even a watermark is not a guarantee against art theft, but we still choose to protect and mark our work as ours, in a way that we hope is as non-obtrusive as possible.
Often times people think a watermark is ugly, distracting and disturbing. but we deem it necessary to protect our right and property.
May I use your photos as a reference?
The short answer is yes - but there are terms and conditions.
The photos you can find on our website, DeviantArt Gallery and Instagram are however reduced in resolution and quality to make it less appealing to steal them.
This is why you can use these are reference for free.
If you are looking for high quality and resolution, we'd like to direct you to our wildlifereferencephotos (WRP) profile.
Did you see a photo you want to use as a referenceon our website, DeviantArt or Instagram and it isn't on WRP yet?
Contact us, and we'll try to upload it to WRP as soon as possible though we can't guarantee WRP will (quickly) accept it.
Our terms and conditions:
Ask our permission before you start creating your art.
You create new, original work; this is not a license to freely distribute our photos elsewhere.
You do not use our photos to create art that is in any way cruel, offesive, insulting or hurtful.
If you share your art online, you give credit for our photo as reference.
The ethics of zoo photography
A lot of people visit zoos on a recreational basis only; a fun day out now and then. It’s been a long time since visiting a zoo was *just* a fun day out to us. It’s a hobby, a passion. It’s what we do.
"How can you call yourself an animal lover and be a zoo photographer?"
Being a zoo photographer doesn’t mean you don’t love animal. It doesn’t automatically say you wouldn’t rather see the animals in the wild.
The harsh reality of the world we live in, is simply that for animals we see at the zoo, the actual “wild” is disappearing rapidly. The idyllic wilds of Africa are reserves with fencing as well. The diversity of animals in those national parks are managed, just like nature parks are managed in the Netherlands. People and organizations decide which animals get to live there, and when they have to go.
You see people taking polar safaris to see wild Polar Bears. Their boats are breaking the ice the Bears depend on for survival, while the climate change we instigated is melting that same ice at frightening speed.
It’s a skewed world we live. Whether we accept it or not, zoos will become the only place where we can see many animals who’s very existence we take for granted. We should not merely save them so the next generation can still enjoy them – we need to save these species because they deserve to live and roam the planet as much as we do.
"Animals don't belong in captivity. They're not happy with a life lived in a zoo. How can you support that?"
I can’t say that an animal who grew up in a zoo, would be better off or happier in the wild. And really, who can give a definitive answer to that question?
We crave what we do not know, but we only pretend to miss something we’ve never had. Because who says that your life will be better with, or without it?
I’ll admit, we’ve never had a true peek behind the scenes of the zoos we visit, but I do believe they treat their animals well. Don’t listen to those archaic stories who want you to believe that all zoos are stuck in the 80s. Animal welfare is key – zoos build large habitats and offer daily enrichment methods. They partake in conservation efforts in situ, and offer education to zoo visitors. Zoos are constantly developing and becoming better.
"If you love wild animals so much, why don't you go visit them in the wild?"
We wish we had the money and experience to find a place with little to no corruption, that offers the kind of wild experience we’d love the have. And that’s not even counting the amount of luck we’d need to see everything we want to see.
Zoos aren’t perfect. But animals aren’t perfect either, bei it in a zoo or in the wild. They sleep a lot, and they find places to sleep that make them nearly invisible to visitors.
But let’s keep in mind that animals aren’t aware of the fact that most people who visit a zoo, expect to be entertained by said animal, just like people who go on a safari expect to have the full experience.
But the animals didn’t get the memo to move around and play, just because there’s a spectator gawking at them - with a camera at the ready or not. Living at the zoo or in the wild is their day-to-day life; they face the rain just like we do, have bad moods just like we do, and have days when they just want to laze around and nothing.
Animals aren’t on this earth for our entertainment or amusement. There are still zoos, in nearly every country, where are animals are trained to perform tricks, or be near people to be petted and hugged – sometimes for money, sometimes for free as part of the zoo experience.
This is not something we support. This is wrong, as wrong as the illegal exotic pet trade. Wild animals should always be kept wild and not domesticated to the point where people think they’d make a good pet. In the end, it’s always the animal who suffers from a person’s bad decision.
At a zoo at least, animals are preferably taking care of by people who’ve been educated about the care and feeding of wild animals. Too often exotic pet owners – and yes, zoo visitors – end up getting hurt by a wild animal or hurting the animal. Taking care of a wild animal is a job, a career, and not a whim.