Gracing the forests of Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo is the bearded pig. These guys are sort of the clean up crew of the jungle, following around orangutans and gobbling up whatever food scraps they leave behind. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 170mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second.
Here’s another one from the backyard trap. Unfortunately, my hidden backlight wasn’t working for this exposure, but the raccoon was looking toward the single flash coming from the side so it worked out nicely. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/14 at 1/250th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash.
This lone meerkat seemed to be enjoying a few moments alone in the late afternoon just before the rest of the troop arrived back home from their foraging. Photographed in the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second.
This young lady took a stroll past my camera trap yesterday morning. I appreciate the fact that she kept her left ear just in frame. And the pink nose too. That’s a nice touch. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
My triggering system isn’t fast enough to deliberately capture birds in flight like this, but occasionally I get lucky when another bird, or a squirrel, or a falling leaf, or who knows what else triggers the system at the same time as a bird is flying by. In this case a tufted titmouse was flying by. As to who took the photo, we’ll never know. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens 35mm, ISO 400, f/14 at 1/250th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
I’ve posted a few of these rare white wallabies before. Here’s another one carrying a joey. The white morph isn’t always passed on to the babies. In fact, more often than not, the joey is born without the genetic anomaly. Bruny Island off the coast of Tasmania is one of the best places to see white wallabies. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second.
This is the larger of the two cubs that regularly frequent our yard with their mother. The photo was captured back at the beginning of October when the bears were showing up more frequently. Even at 17mm, the cub got a bit too close to the front of the lens, clipping the leading paw. But I’ll take it. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/125th of a second.
A bat-eared fox pup plays by the den while Mom is out hunting for dinner. Photographed in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.
On another note, wanted to give a shout out to my friend Louis Wittig who has a kickstarter project for a card game called No Fish! A Game of Environmental Catastrophe for the Whole Family. If you follow the comments section of this blog I’m sure you have a pretty good idea of Louis’s satirical, sometimes cryptic, often subtle, but usually always funny sense of humor. The illustrations alone are pretty fantastic, if not comically depressing. Click here to go to the Kickstarter page and get a pack of cards for yourself or as a gift.
We have a lot of chipmunks in our yard. From March/April through late October, the non-stop chirping can be heard across our five acres. They live in the open grassy parts of the yard, the wooded areas, the stone walls, the bushes, and some even in crevices in our foundation. But we still love having them around. Over the last few weeks I haven’t heard a single chirp. At this time of year they go into a deep sleep. Not a true hibernation, they’ll wake often and feast upon the food they stored in their burrows and might even pop their heads above ground from time to time to see what’s going on. This is one of the last chipmunk shots I was able to capture with the camera trap before they all settled in for the season. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
You can see why the African wild dog gets is nicknamed the painted dog. They are quite spectacular. I’ve only seen them twice and only on this occasion in Botswana was I able to spend a good deal of time with a large pack. Unfortunately, African wild dogs are endangered due to habitat fragmentation. A problem which leads to conflict with humans, transmission of infectious diseases and high mortality rates. Here’s hoping conservation efforts can save the species from further decline. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.