STUDIO CITY, Calif. -- Charlie Morey's "A Face Like Yours ..." portfolio ("Portraits of a few friends who live at the Los Angeles Zoo," as he describes it) will be featured in Paws, Claws, Applause, an Aug. 2-29 fine art exhibit at NoHo Gallery LA in the heart of North Hollywood, Calif.'s NoHo Arts District. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the zoo's nonprofit fundraising organization GLAZA (Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association). An artist's reception will be held on Aug. 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

"The Los Angeles Zoo, its animals, its rare botanicals and its equally colorful patrons have long been an inspiration to artists," says Eugenia "Genie" Vassels, vice president of institutional advancement at GLAZA. "We are thrilled to be a part of this exhibition and the rich cultural life of Los Angeles. Charlie is a gifted photographer and thanks to him, many of our beloved animals have been honored through his eyes."

"NoHo Gallery LA welcomes featured artist Charlie Morey and the Los Angeles Zoo in their efforts to portray the beautiful nature of our precious animals, to educate us about programs helping endangered species survive and to enlighten us about ongoing and future events the Los Angeles Zoo offers the general public," Dan DeBevoise, curator at NoHo Gallery LA adds.

The "A Face Like Yours ..." images result from several years of Morey's zoo visits armed with his Nikon dSLR cameras and a super-sized Sigma 50-500mm zoom lens. Morey chose to convert his color digital images to black and white for the portfolio because he feels the medium expresses a form of respect for the animals.

"There are thousands of superb photographs of wild animals," Morey says, "and you see them every day on TV, in magazines, at the zoo. But I wanted something other than a literal visual translation of their appearance. In each case, I've tried to capture a compelling moment in the animal's life. And a monochrome image simplifies that moment by omitting the color element and formalizes it in a traditional way, like tuxedoes and black dresses formalize a social occasion." An online gallery displaying 16 of the images is available for viewing at Morey's gallery Web site http://www.charliemorey.com.

"I can't fully express my gratitude to the Los Angeles Zoo, GLAZA and the City of Los Angeles for the amazing resource they provide for artists. We'd have to travel to Asia, Africa, South America and other faraway locales to find the animals that now live only 15 minutes from my front door, thanks to the zoo!" Morey states enthusiastically. "As a result, I make all my images available to GLAZA's Director of Publications Brenda Posada and her newsletter, magazine and Web site teams for free. It's the least I can do and it's fun to see my work in their publications!" Morey also volunteers as an event photographer for GLAZA-hosted special occasions.