I’ve posted a few images in the past from this glorious morning. Here’s another frame from my favorite minus-27-degree-wind-chill day of shooting ever. In this take, the sun was still somewhat obscured by the clouds keeping the blues of the ice a softer shade of gray and the overall scene less contrasty than those previous posts. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second.
I’ve been enjoying the wildlife in my own back yard as of late, but longing for a return to more exotic locales, like Ankarafantsika National Park in western Madagascar. It was there in the dry forests that I met this Milne Edwards’ sportive lemur. Usually nocturnal, this one was hiding in the cavity of a tree along a trail I was hiking and woke up to see what was passing by. I took a couple of quick shots before moving on. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/4th of a second.
It’s been a few weeks but the excitement returned today as a mother black bear and her two cubs spent some time in our front yard. The cubs must have been lost and waiting for the mom to find them as they hid in a tree. I actually saw the mom first as she came through the woods in the backyard and eventually down the hill to reunite with the cubs (which I didn’t see until they went running to the mom). Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second (top shot) and 1/1000th of a second (bottom shot).
Two young mountain gorillas play fighting in the thick foliage of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. These siblings are still too young to be able to determine sex. They were part of a small nine-member troop. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 175mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
I’ve had the pleasure of photographing burrowing owls in Florida, Texas, South Dakota, California and Brazil. This guy was captured in the latter and seemed to have a bit more of an attitude than his cousins up north in the United States. Unlike most owls, the burrowing owl is diurnal rather than nocturnal and lives in burrows rather than in trees. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/1000th of a second.
The black and white colobus monkey is another of the many species graced with multiple names. You can also call this guy the Abyssinian black and white colobus, the eastern black and white colobus, the guereza, or the mantled guereza. He (or she, not sure) was photographed along the side of the road on my first trip to Uganda when we were driving to one of the national parks in the southwest corner of the country. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mmm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/6.3 at 1/250th of a second.
Johnny rook is the local nickname for the striated caracara, likely due to its main prey the gentoo penguin, which itself is often called the Johnny penguin (all very confusing). That’s a gentoo penguin off to the right in the background. These raptors were relentless with their efforts to infiltrate the penguin colonies and steal their eggs. I was down on the ground photographing a few of them when I turned around and saw this guy running toward me (I think he thought I might have something tasty in my backpack). I wish he didn’t have a tag but all in the name of conservation efforts. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 135mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/1600th of a second.
A couple of weeks ago, I tried camera trapping for the first time. It’s been a slow start while I learn the ins and outs of my new gear. I know there’s a lot of wildlife in the woods surrounding my home, but getting animals in the exact spot I want has been a challenge. Finally, yesterday afternoon, I had my first remote encounter as a white-tailed fawn came to visit. This was the first frame of nine that were fired off while the deer drank at a nearby creek. I’m hoping this is a spot that other, more exotic species might also use from time to time. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/80th of a second, Cognisys camera trap box, trigger and flashes.
An olive baboon sits patiently in the rain. The olive is the most widely spread species of baboon. It can be found in twenty five different countries across Africa. I photographed this one in the Ol Pajeta Conservancy of Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.
These two gentoo penguins really seemed like they were on some sort of top secret recognizance mission. I watched as they worked their way across the beach, past the dunes, into the hinterland where they forded a few shallow streams, never breaking focus on the importance of their undertaking. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second.