Skies like this are one of the reasons I like to go to East Africa during the short rainy season. Male impala grazing on the plains of the Olare Orok Conservancy of the Masai Mara in Kenya. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/800th of a second.
Lemurs seem to get a lot of variations on their common names. This is the white-fronted brown lemur. But he’ll also answer to the white-headed lemur, the white-headed brown lemur, or the white-fronted lemur. I only saw a few of them while in Madagascar, on the island of Nosy Mangabe. And speaking of names, today’s word of the day is cathemerality. Which of course means active sporadically throughout the 24 hour day/night cycle. These guys are that. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6mm manual focus lens, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second.
Wombats can often be photographed at very close range. Thus was obviously the case as this one emerged from its burrow in Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania. In fact, I had my fisheye lens mounted to my camera, allowing me to get very up close and personal but still show the environment. Nikon D810 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second.
Black-capped night heron’s often allow a close approach. This one was focused on staring at the water, waiting for just the right moment to strike. I was able to get several nice portraits from ground level, before backing off and allowing the staring contest to continue. Photographed at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/500th of a second.
Gazelle’s don’t get a lot of attention amidst the other big ticket items on an African safari. In fact, I just did a search and in over ten years of doing this blog, I’ve only posted a gazelle twice — and one of those times was because a leopard was eating it for dinner. I think it’s about time I show them a bit more love. This male was looking quite regal as he gazed into the distance (perhaps surveying the plains to avoid becoming dinner himself). Photographed in Lewa in Kenya. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second.
Always nice to run into motmots while in Central and South America. This particular motmot is of the rufous variety. He/she allowed a very close approach, as well as a side angle, enabling me to photograph all that great color in the feathers. This wasn’t too far from our lodge in the cloud forest of Ecuador. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second.
After yesterday’s shorebird with questionable eating habits, I promised something a bit more adorable. So here’s another look at a brown mouse lemur, one of the world’s smallest primates. Photographed on the island of Nosy Mangabe, off the coast of the island of Madagascar. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 185mm) ISO 200, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.
The pale-faced sheathbill is the only land bird native to the Antarctic continent. I photographed this one in the Falkland Islands. Also known as the snowy sheathbill, greater sheathbill and paddy, it’s certainly not going to win any beauty contests. That said, its looks are perhaps its most charming characteristic. Not having webbed feet, this shorebird does not fish but instead finds its food on land by scavenging. It will eat almost anything, including but not limited to regurgitated food from penguins, penguin eggs, and if the opportunity presents itself, penguin chicks. But that’s when it’s living clean. It will also eat carrion, animal feces, and, if and when available, human waste. It has even been known to eat tapeworms that have been living inside a penguin’s intestines. There’s probably a reason, I’ve never posted a pale-faced sheathbill. Tomorrow I promise to return with something slightly more adorable. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
One of the handful of white-handed gibbons that I saw while in Thailand. These guys come in two colors — darker, almost black fur like this one, and also a much lighter, beige color. This gibbon had been quickly moving through the canopy, calling his mate for quite a while as I was scurrying below trying to find an opening in the foliage to grab a shot or two. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second.
I’ve posted a few images from this series in the past. Here’s another of a lone bighorn atop the eroded buttes of Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The bighorn being on the ridgeline allowed me to shoot with a wider telephoto, making the subject smaller in the overall composition and really communicating all that glorious environment. I was also able to use a graduated neutral density filter to hold the detail in the sky while preventing a full silhouette of the landscape. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/800th of a second, split graduated neutral density filter.