Botswana can present a photographic challenge with all its dry scrubland and bright sunshine. Not always a good combo for pleasant images. But when that African sun is low on the horizon, even the dead bushes can look great if the subjects are catching the light just right. I spotted this small herd of impala early in the morning in the Linyanti Concession. About twenty minutes later, the lighting conditions quickly deteriorated. Of course, that made it the perfect time to put the camera down and just enjoy the amazing sights and sounds that only Africa can provide. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/800th of a second.
This is the spotted thick-knee, also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee. As the name would suggest, those knees are pretty thick. Thick-knees are also pretty smart, often faking an injury to draw predators away from a nest. They range throughout much of sub-Sahara Africa, preferring grasslands and savanna where they spend the majority of their time. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
A rather large black bear fills up on berries, preparing for hibernation a few years back in Yellowstone National Park. The denning period for black bears in Yellowstone is roughly five months. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 2000, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
This crowned lemur was a member of a free-ranging troop that took residence in Park Ivoloina on the east coast of Madagascar. Typically, these endangered lemurs are restricted to the northern, dry forests. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm (at 145mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/60th of a second.
This was the closest I got to a puma on my trip to Patagonia back in May — a rather simple shot, but uncropped at 330mm. She was on her way back to a kill that she had hidden in the grass earlier in the day and wasn’t paying any attention to me and a few other photographers happily clicking away. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
Here’s another of our backyard visitors. Not from this week, of course, but from back in July. Hawks can be difficult to distinguish one species from another, but the banding on the tail and spotted chest gives this one away as a juvenile red-tailed hawk. I also like that fancy pant on the left leg. It seemed quite intrigued by whatever it was staring at through the back windows of our house. Perhaps our cat, who likes to sit back there. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 330mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
While visiting Tulum with my wife, I took an afternoon to go check out the Punta Laguna Nature Preserve, hoping to find a few Geoffroy’s spider monkeys. Obviously, that mission was a success. I ended up seeing quite a few, in fact — on the ground, in the trees, flying through the air, etc. They are quite fun to watch with their lanky bodies and acrobatic maneuvers through the forest. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
Black-capped night herons (also known as black-crowned night herons, or simply night herons) are widely distributed throughout the world wherever there is salt or fresh water wetlands. This guy allowed me a very close approach in ideal lighting conditions for a headshot — direct, low sun, with a dark shadowed background. Taken during a work trip last year to Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 200, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second.
Of the five species of penguins that I photographed in the Falkland Islands, the Magellanic penguins were the only ones that don’t live in colonies, but rather, in burrows. They can typically be seen popping out of these holes in the ground, surveying the area for any danger before either going back down, or waddling away to do whatever it is that needs doing. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/8 at 1/125th of a second.
Armadillos can be difficult to photograph because they keep their noses to the ground 90% of the time. They’re also quite skittish. They have a great sense of smell, but terrible eyesight so the trick is to position yourself upwind so that they don’t know you’re there and wait for them to lift their heads. I photographed this nine-banded armadillo on Merritt Island in Florida. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/1000th of a second.
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