PENDLETON — He bent down on one knee and pulled the camera up to his eye. The young photographer then got down even lower, putting his full body on the ground, trying to get the perfect picture.

Spring was in full swing this past weekend in Pendleton.

Falls Park and the surrounding areas were coming to life with flowers blooming and animals soaking up the sunshine.

Phillip Zackary, 13, a seventh-grader at Pendleton Heights Middle School, went out looking for spring with his camera and found it, he said.

Zackary was recently given two old cameras from family members and decided to put them to good use by getting into photography, he said.

Zackary found several trees in bloom and lots of ducks and geese taking advantage of the nice weather at Falls Park, one of his favorite places to go looking for nature shots.

His biggest discovery, though, was a two-foot snake he happened upon during his nature adventures in Markleville.

“Yeah, the snake was pretty big,” Zackary said. “I made sure not to get too close to it, though.”

He did, however, get close enough to get a photo.

When asked if he might someday end up working for National Geographic taking wildlife photos, Zackary laughed and said, “I could really see myself doing that.”