Not optimal during a photo shoot, but Abbie Cooke keeps clicking away.

"Arthur also has a knack of just showing me his butt," she says. "He is the most difficult animal to photograph out here, but he is so gorgeous, it makes it worth it."

The "out here" is the Conservators' Center Inc, a nonprofit sanctuary in Mebane that is home to 97 animals, including lions, tigers, servals, bobcats, binturongs, wolves and New Guinea singing dogs. Founded in 1999 by Douglas Evans and Mindy Stinner, public tours began in 2007. Its mission is to provide conservation and education, and to offer a home to exotic wildlife that have nowhere else to go.

An emaciated Arthur arrived in the summer of 2008 after he was seized by a government agency. Three years later the white tiger is a healthy 325 pounds and one of the stars of the center's first calendar. Abbie took every photo for it, and her husband, Jason, designed it. The couple began volunteering at the Center four years ago and own Chariot Creative ( www.chariotcreative.com), which offers graphic and website design, and photography

Cooke grew up in an artsy family on an Arabian horse farm in Castalia, N.C., surrounded by horses, dogs, cats and chickens. It wasn't until she was 20 that she got into photography. It was a whirlwind romance that still rocks with passion.

"I like being able to pick out an everyday moment that is easy to glance over and catch its beauty," she says. "I think that is why I have fallen in love with taking photos of the center's animals. There is nothing more magnificent and beautiful in the world to put my camera on."

Four years ago, Cooke got a yen to volunteer with exotic animals. Soon after she went into Ten Thousand Villages in Raleigh and met Julia Matson Wagner, the center's director of outreach, who had a booth set up there. The Cookes both got involved.

"We were hooked. There is something completely addictive about the lions 'oofing' out there," Cooke says.

Oofing is the sound lions make when communicating with each other. Mandy Matson, a volunteer at the center who manages communications, gives tours and provides animal care, says that in Africa the sound travels for miles.

The Cookes' first task was building a lion den box, but Abbie asked if she could bring her camera along next time.

"It snowballed from there," she says.

Cooke photographs all of the animals, and her husband uses the images when he designs the center's printed materials. People who adopt a center animal get an adoption package, which includes a photograph that Cooke takes.

"Jason and I feel like this is such a good fit that we have done this for other non-profits too, including Great Dane Friends, Blue Ridge Boxer Rescue, and New Music Raleigh," she says.

Cooke still remains surprised and thrilled at how intimate her photos feel.

"Because the animals are so engaging," she said. "They do care where people are and what you are doing. So when they look straight at you, it looks like they are reading your soul. If I do it right, I can capture that fleeting moment. My goal is to make other people feel the same way."

Wagner hangs Cooke's photographs in her office.

"And I treasure few things more than the photos of animals she has taken that are now deceased, because her abilities keep me reminded of the presence those animals once had," she says.

Thomas the lion is another animal on the calendar.

"Thomas is a hunk and so charismatic," Cooke says. "He is one of the easiest to photograph. It's like he took a modeling class."

So with a fence between people and animals, how does one get such amazing, intimate images?

Very carefully. Shooting aside, Cooke has spent hundreds of hours at the center getting to know every animal. And she tries to get to the center when she knows the animals are most active.

"Usually the cooler the weather the more active they are," she says. "Lighting is better in early morning and late afternoon when light has more of an angle and is softer, which is more conducive to getting better photographs."

During shooting, Jason or a staff member blocks for Abbie, meaning they stand with her watching the movement of the animals in the enclosures and quietly telling her when to step away from the fence. Safety is a priority. The blocker will also try to make the right sound or crack a stick so the animal in the viewfinder will give Cooke "good ears."

The center offers this opportunity for intimate photography on a photography tour. It costs $125 per hour. In January at its annual "tree toss," the center offers this opportunity to five people.

One of the first photos Cooke got of Arthur was when he started looking healthy. It shows him playing in his enclosure with a burlap sack stuffed with grasses. Though he now has a mate, Kira, he was still alone then as he was growing and learning social skills.

"I snapped off 100 photos and finally he grabbed the sack and looked at me with his piercing eyes," she says. "It was the perfect photo. I don't think I could re-create that moment in a millions tries if I wanted to."

The calendar is now available and can be ordered for $16 at www.conservatorscenter.org.