I got out into the woods behind the house today with my macro lens. Turning over a few fallen tree trunks revealed a nice assortment of salamanders, among other creatures considerably smaller than bears. I believe this to be the dusky salamander (correct me if I’m wrong as it’s just a guess based on an internet search). He/she allowed a few photos before scampering away under the leaf litter. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/14 at 1/80th of a second.
We saw a lot of these Nazca boobies throughout the Galápagos Islands. Quite a few of them were tending to their eggs. This photo was taken on Genovesa Island. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/500th of a second.
Of the black bears that have walked through my camera trap, this is the only one that I’ve never actually seen. The white on the chest kind of reminds me of the Asian black bear or sun bear, both of which sport a similar patch of white fur. I captured, or should I say the bear captured, this image about three weeks ago. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/125th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
At dawn, the birds start coming out and they take an occasional photo of themselves. I see lots of these white-throated sparrows around the yard, distinguishable by the two patches of yellow above the eyes — although barely visible in this shot. But I did think the backlit rain added a nice element to the composition (click for larger view on big screens). Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
Here’s another from the trip back in January to Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park. This was one of a pair of two-years in the troop, enjoying a mid day snack. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 180mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
This rockhopper penguin appeared to be speaking on high while addressing the masses down below. Another day on Saunders Island in the Falklands. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 110mm) ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/80th of a second.
At the risk of repeating myself, here’s another of our local opossums. These guys are especially well suited to a backlit setup with all those whiskers and scraggly hair. 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.
Raccoons are the one local resident that I thought I’d see more of. I guess the ones in our yard don’t come out until after midnight. Perfect for the camera trap. This guy paused on his way across a fallen log to check out my camera. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 28mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and flashes.
Once I moved my camera trap so that the beam crosses over the top of a fallen tree, I’ve been getting a lot more of the small woodland creatures. Including the very small. This is a deer mouse. Possibly reacting to the flash of light. I did capture a few other shots of mice simply going about their business as the flash fired. Who knows, this might even be the guy I saved from my cat a few weeks ago and released into the back woods. 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.
Throughout the summer, a mother bear and her two cubs were regular visitors to our yard. We saw them maybe four or five times. And they returned for a visit last Friday. The cubs have gotten big, as this guy was apparently trying to show me. Although he looks more like he’s trying to play an upright bass with that tree. Either way, nice to see them and be able to capture a bunch of images as they came into the middle of the backyard, played for a bit, looked for a few apples from our lone apple tree, then headed back into the forest. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/400th of a second.